


Like the Ocean Finds the Shore

by Cliffordiste (cliffordiste)



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: M/M, Mermaid!Michael, Muke - Freeform, merman!michael
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2017-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-26 09:28:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 71,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6233329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cliffordiste/pseuds/Cliffordiste
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luke is content living his normal life, sharing his little world with his best friend Calum. Nothing even remotely curious or interesting ever happens to him. Then he discovers an under-the-surface secret about a kid from his class named Michael and a whole hidden world is revealed to him. He is catapulted into a friendship and has to put up with Michael and his stupid blue hair, slowly discovering that not everything is as it seems.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Unveiled pt. I

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thesoulsailor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesoulsailor/gifts).



> Disclaimer: This story involves fictional characters based off how I perceive the boys in interviews, fanvideos, podcasts etc. and how I think they would develop throughout events and circumstances in the story. I in no way claim that this is how the boys are in real life, nor do I claim to know them personally. The 5sos guys are their own person and their own person alone. This is merely a fictional story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm dedicating this fic to Carly once again because her works and friendship inspire me to write. Also my new friend Trinity (TUMBLR: lukeybee) with whom I bonded over mermaids and Michael's tummy, and all the people on my dash that make me happy: muketrash, micool5sos, mukehug, mukenope, lashtons, ashirtwit, pilotmikey, paper-storm and mikeyreject.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy! x

"I can't believe we actually have to count _birds_ for a grade," Luke complained to Calum.

They were sitting on a patch of grass in the park, looking out over the pond, some bushes and a small group of trees.

Calum shrugged. "It's better than cutting fish open," he offered.

"I hate Biology," Luke said, scrunching up his nose at the memory of fish dissecting—or 'trying not to vomit, and smelling terrible for the rest of the day', as he preferred to call it.

"Same," Calum said. "Although the rest of Science is okay. It's better than Math. Plus it's nice to be outside."

Luke wasn't convinced, especially since he was kind of good at Math.

"Oh look, there's another one of those..." Calum trailed off as he leafed through the small bird guide on his lap, trying to find the name of the bird he just spotted.

Luke heaved a sigh. "That's just a starling, Cal."

"Really?" Calum looked bummed. "I thought it'd be something more special. It looked cool, all spotted over like that," he said.

"Sorry to disappoint," Luke mumbled, adding another tally to their list of starling sightings. "We've seen this one before several times today."

A shrug shook Calum's shoulders. "At least I'm trying," he said, shooting Luke a look, "I can't say the same for you."

Luke had to admit he felt bad for letting Calum do most of the work but he couldn't bring himself to take this assignment seriously. He shrugged and stretched out onto the grass, enjoying the sun.

He heard Calum sigh next to him. It wouldn't be long or he, too, would be relaxing in the sun. Maybe they should take turns so they didn't mess up the assignment completely.

Just as the skin on Luke's face started to tingle with the comfortable warmth of the sun, a shadow fell over his face. Luke groaned and pried open one eye. "I'll watch the birds later on, I promise. I just want to enjoy the—" He stopped mid sentence when he realised the figure blocking the sun wasn't Calum at all. He didn't even come close.

It was a kid from his class. Luke didn't like him; he was obnoxious, weird and loud but at the same time not very talkative or sociable. Luke could never decide what to make of him. "Oh, hi," he said. He'd intended to call the boy by his name but he couldn't for the life of him remember what it was.

"Michael, hi!" Calum piped up on his left, "What's up?"

Ah yes, Michael, that was it. Of course Calum'd know. Even though he was a quiet guy, he always seemed to know everything about everyone. Maybe because he was genuinely interested in every single person, unlike Luke who'd rather direct his attention and energy at a smaller amount of people.

"Hey, Calum," said the kid named Michael. He looked uncomfortable standing there with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders slightly hunched. "So, uhm, I hate to ask you this but I'm really not good at this whole bird watching thing." He gestured towards the green around them, and said, "and I was wondering if I could maybe copy your results later today." His voice went up at the end, making it a question.

A snort escaped from Luke's throat, earning him an eye roll from Calum. He couldn't help it, he felt no empathy for Michael. Nobody was good at bird watching but they all had to do it, whether they liked it or not. He knew it wasn't fair to feel annoyed towards Michael, he had done the exact same himself. However, it was different for him, or so he told himself; he and Calum were friends and he'd make it up to him some time. Michael didn't have the right to enjoy the perks of having Calum as friend.

Before he could speak, however, Calum had already given Michael the green light and Luke groaned again.

"Don't pay attention to him, he likes to think he's better than others," Calum informed Michael. "It's a typical character trait for specimens like these," he added, mocking a documentary voice, "especially the lanky ones with blond hair tend to express narcissistic behaviour towards others when they're in an unfamiliar environment."

Luke could hear the grin in Calum's voice and had to try his best to keep looking annoyed while a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"My natural hair colour is blond," Michael confessed.

Calum's smile froze for a second before he burst out laughing. "Oh, right, sorry. I was only talking about my friend over here." He poked Luke's belly button through his shirt. "Anyway, you can copy it during Math later today if you want, it's no biggie. Just make sure to alter to results a bit so it's not too obvious."

Michael looked grateful but Luke could tell he was still uncomfortable—probably because Luke was being such an asshole to him. _Good_ , he thought. He was in a particularly bad mood today and he had no problem taking others down with him.

"Thanks a lot." Michael smiled at Calum, making an effort to ignore Luke. "I'll see you at Math, I suppose," he said, and waved an awkward wave before turning around, raking a hand through his hair which, Luke noticed only now, was turquoise instead of the red it had been before—or the black it had been before that, or the green it had been before that, or the purple it was before that. Funny how he hadn't been able to recall his name but could still remember most of his previous hair colours.

As Michael walked away, Luke found himself feeling sorry for Michael's hair.

Calum shot him an ugly look. "You can be such a dick sometimes," he said.

Luke sighed. "I just have no love for bird watching and I have no love for that turquoise haired lazy ass either," he defended himself.

As soon as he said it, he realised how bad it sounded and started to feel guilty for his behaviour. "Okay, I'm sorry, Cal." He pushed himself up on one arm and turned towards his friend. "I don't know what's up with me. I didn't mean to be such a twat. I'll apologise to him during Math, I promise."

"Good." A smile crept onto Calum's face. "You watch the birds for now, I'm going to get us some food." Without awaiting a reply, he dumped the papers and books onto Luke's lap and took off on his quest for nourishment.

"Okay," Luke muttered to himself, "I suppose I deserved that."

After stretching thoroughly, he sat up and crossed his legs. With one hand holding a pen and the other underneath his chin, he lazily let his eyes wander over the green, scanning for movement.

He didn't see a lot of birds but he did spot a middle aged couple walking by, an elderly man taking a stroll a bit further on and some of his classmates fighting over what bird it was they'd just seen. A lady with a dog walked by and he felt sorry Calum wasn't here to pet it.

He sighed. Without Calum, this was even more boring.

Then he noticed movement in the corner of his eye. A bit further down the path, a bunch of teenagers were laughing and raising their voices. It didn't sound friendly. As Luke narrowed his eyes against the sunlight, he noticed another figure standing a bit to the side of the group, close to the edge of the duck pond that was the center of the park.

_Oh no._

Luke knew it was coming before it happened. He jumped up and began to run, leaving his papers sprawled out on the grass, but he was too late.

Someone in the group extended an arm and pushed the lonely figure in the chest, making him stumble backwards. The figure lost his footing and fell into the water with a big splash and flailing arms. Luke heard a yelp and then he heard laughter coming from the group again. What jerks.

He stopped in his step and waited until the group had moved along, he'd rather not be the next one going for a dive. Fortunately, as soon as the splash was over, the kids lost interest and took off to bother someone else.

Luke placed his hands above his eyes and scanned the surface of the water for movement. Apart from a few ripples from the last splash, the surface was smooth. His breath hitched. Was someone drowning? He took a sprint to the edge and stared into the water. He thought he saw a blurry patch of blue move, or was it just a fish? "Are you all right?" he said loudly. A mixture of different colours moved beneath the surface. "Can you swim, do you need help?"

If no one showed within the next two seconds, he would jump in. No one could remain under water for so long without coming up for air. Maybe whoever was pushed in hit their head and passed out.

Luke had already started taking his clothes off when something moved the water. A stream of bubbles and foam came up on the surface, accompanied by a sizzling sound.

 _What the hell?_ He leaned over as far as he could but still couldn't make out what was causing all the fuss.

Suddenly something broke the surface with a splash, causing Luke to yelp and effectively soaking his clothing in cold water.

A familiar face stared up at him with a shocked expression, turquoise hair plastered to his forehead. For a second, Luke thought he had scarred Michael with the sight of his underwear, but then he saw it.

It was ocean blue, large and looked strong. The sunlight reflected off the scales in a spectrum of different colours. It was a tail; a fish tail. Luke felt his jaw drop as he tried to comprehend what he was seeing, disbelief surging through his veins.

Panic radiated from Michael's face. "Please, Luke, you have to promise me you won't tell anyone. Promise me," he hissed.

Luke swallowed hard. He couldn't take his eyes of tail that lay glittering in the water. Michael 's tail. "What the fuck?" was all he managed to squeeze out.

"Luke, listen to me," Michael said, and whipped his head to all sides to see if anyone else was watching. No one was. "This is not a fucking joke, no one can see me like this."

When Luke didn't respond, Michael gave his tail a flick and sent another bucketful of water over Luke's head.

"Hey!" Luke yelled, mad about his underwear getting wet. The splash did its job, though, and he was pulled back into reality—or whatever this was.

"Listen," Michael hissed urgently, staring him in the eye. "You've got to get me out of here. I can only hide for so long before anyone sees me."

"And how do you suggest I do that?" Luke asked, incredulous.

"Get a bunch of towels, blankets... Anything that can dry or cover me up. And a set of dry clothes. There's a willow tree with branches hanging in the water over there, I'll hide there until you get back," Michael spoke quickly, his eyes constantly scanning the area.

It was mad. Absolutely bonkers. But there he was, standing at the edge of a duck pond, staring right into the eyes of a mermaid wearing a Green Day shirt. It made no sense.

"Go!" Michael snapped when Luke still didn't move.

Quickly, Luke pulled up his pants and laced his shoes. From the corner of his eye, he could see Michael disappear under the surface, leaving only a few bubbles and a vague shape moving towards the willow tree.

He turned around on his heels and began to run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo, mermaids! Yup, that happened. You're welcome.
> 
> I had to cut this chapter up into two parts or it would've been too long, sorry. So if there's anything you like/dislike: let me know ;D


	2. Unveiled pt. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you start reading, I'd like to tell you a thing about my younger self. I used to love watching H2O because I adored mermaids and I thought that if you were in the ocean at midnight on a full moon, you'd turn into one. Of course, there was no way my parents would let me go to the beach that late so I thought of an alternative and decided to take a shower as late as possible, I wanted to be a mermaid so bad! Needless to say, I never turned into a mermaid, I only pissed off my mother, haha.
> 
> Yup, that's how much I love mermaids. All your positive feedback on the first chapter means a lot to me, so thank you and enjoy this new chapter! x

As soon as he got home, Luke scampered up the stairs and grabbed as many towels from the bathroom as he could carry. He seized the first shirt and pants he could find on his bedroom floor, and a pair of sneakers as well. Then he took a fleece blanket from the sofa and made a beeline for the front door, leaving his mother's questions unanswered as he slammed the door and sprinted back to the park.

Back at the pond, he struggled to catch his breath. He snuck into the foliage of the massive willow and dumped the towels on the ground before kneeling at the edge of the water.

"Michael?" he said softly. "Michael, are you there?"

His gaze danced over the water but he found no trace of anyone—or anything, for that matter. He started to doubt what he'd seen. Michael, half fish? It was ridiculous. Maybe even a little too ridiculous for Luke's mind to have made it up.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when Michael's head broke the surface.

"Stop doing that! You scare the crap out of me, dude," he said, trying to calm the nervous hammering in his chest.

Michael ignored the words. "Do you have what I asked for?" His eyes found the pile of fabric. "Good. Spread one out on the floor."

Luke blinked. "Why?"

"Because I'm not going to lie on the dirty ground, you stupid."

Luke was starting to think that snarky was Michael's default mood. He did what he was asked anyway.

"Now help me up," Michael said, holding his arms up in the air.

"What?"

"You have to pull me out. I can't do it myself or I would've done it long ago," Michael replied. "Hurry up, would you? The sooner I've got legs, the better."

 _This is not happening_ , Luke thought, _this is not real._ He bit his lip and took a step back from the edge, a lump forming in his throat. This was ridiculous. Mermaids didn't exist. They just didn't. He must've gotten a sunstroke or something.

Michael waved his hands, beckoning Luke to come close. "Come on." Panic seeped into Michael's voice. "Luke, please, I have to get out before anyone sees me. There is too much on the line here," he pleaded, " _Please_."

For one more seemingly long moment, Luke hesitated. Then he took Michael's hands and started pulling. The relief in Michael's eyes was so strong it was almost painful.

"Fuck, you're heavy," Luke complained, straining all the muscles in his arm.

"What did you expect? I'm a merman, not a fairy."

Luke stopped pulling for a moment and gaped at Michael. "They exist, too?"

The blue tailed boy stared at him in disbelief. "What kind of idiot are you? Of course they don't. Now keep pulling."

Luke huffed and with a final groan, he hoisted Michael onto the towel. The tail was way longer than he expected, the ending still lay in the water.

"Thanks." Michael put his hands on the ground and pulled himself up so he was on shore completely. Then he grabbed the fleece blanket and covered up his bottom half. He grunted as soon as he saw the print of the fabric. "You just had to get the one with roses on it, didn't you?" he said, rolling his eyes.

"Sorry," Luke said. He felt a sheepish grin creeping onto his face. "Maybe I should've taken the My Little Pony one instead."

Michael stared at him with an incredulous look in his eyes. "Are you kidding me? That would've been fucking _awesome_!" he exclaimed—to Luke's surprise—excitedly. Then he pulled his wet Green Day shirt over his head and started toweling his hair. "Would you mind helping? I'd prefer to stay exposed for as short a time as possible."

"Uh, yeah, sure." Luke grabbed a towel and started to lift the blanket.

"Not the tail!" Michael barked, making Luke jump. "I'll take care of the tail myself," he added, more calmly.

Unsure, Luke pressed the towel against Michael's stomach and started rubbing the skin dry while Michael was still agressively trying to dry his hair, seemingly unfazed. Luke dried his arms, shoulders and back before Michael's voice boomed into his ears again.

"Okay, now step back," he commanded.

Luke did as he was told at the drop of a hat.

He saw Michael lifting the blanket and taking a deep breath. Then Michael extended a hand so it hovered over his tail, his fingers repeating a gesture unknown to Luke. A hissing sound was heard over the calm rippling of water.

Startled, Luke noticed the scales started to dry out and turn grey, steam rising up into the air. Something happened that Luke could only describe as  _transforming_  and then Michael lay there. Naked, but definitely human. He looked tired.

"Did you get clothes?"

Breathless, Luke handed him the briefs he'd taken from home. Michael snatched them from his hand and put them on. Luke just hoped he'd grabbed a clean one in his hurry.

"Luke, there you are!"

The voice startled both of them and their heads turned in its direction immediately. Michael relaxed as soon as he saw it was Calum.

"I looked everywhere for you, man. You just left our bags unguarded so I thought you must've been abducted by aliens or something. Then I suddenly saw you running and vanishing under this tree and—" Looking back and forth between Michael and Luke, Calum noticed that one of them was somewhat underdressed. "What's going on here anyway?"

"N-nothing," Luke stammered. He could practically feel Michael roll his eyes.

"Luke and I were just having a moment," Michael said nonchalantly while zipping up his pants, "Don't worry about it." He ruffled his hair and swiped his fringe to the side, which seemed to be his way of styling it, and patted Calum on the shoulder. "See ya later," he said, taking off without granting Luke another look.

And just like that, he was gone, leaving Luke with no good excuse to build upon. Luke balled his fists and turned towards Calum who was looking at him with an expression of sheer confusion.

"You know, when you said you'd make it up to him, this isn't what I had in mind," Calum said, his expression deadpan.

Luke let out a relieved laugh and Calum's face broke into a grin, too. He nodded towards the pile of cotton on the grass. "Why all the towels?"

Luke sighed. "Michael fell in. Well, he was _pushed_  by a bunch of twats. I spared him the embarrassing walk home by bringing him towels and dry clothes." Calum would have to do with half the truth. The thought of telling him everything had crossed his mind but it quickly died out; not only would Calum have dragged his ass to a therapist if he started talking about mermaids, he felt like he'd get in trouble with Michael as well. Given the fact that he had no idea what mermaids were capable of—because what on earth was that what Michael did to his tail earlier?—he decided it would be better to play it safe.

"Don't tell anyone, though. Just to save him any more embarrassment." He collected the wet cloths in his arms and started walking, "I'm getting these home. Wanna come? We can have lunch before returning to class."

 ~

Their last class that day was Math and Michael showed up as promised. Like nothing had happened, he flopped down in the seat next to Luke. "Hey, could you get your bird stuff out so I can copy it?"

Luke looked at him, eyes wide. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Nope," Michael said. He simultaneously shrugged and shook his head. "I just want your results, that's all. Calum said it was all right."

"Yeah, well, Calum isn't here and he has the papers." Somehow it delighted Luke to say that. "So until he comes back, why don't you tell me what the fuck is going on?" His voice accidentally broke at the end. He'd swear he saw the corners of Michael's mouth curl upwards for a second.

Michael tilted his head to the side and looked at him curiously, his fingers tapping on his knee. "What do _you_ think's going on?" He seemed to enjoy knowing more than others.

"Well," Luke said, and looked around to check if no one was listening in, "for starters, you're a fucking mermaid."

Michael's face fell and he scowled at him. " _Merman_ , I'm a mer _man_. Do I look like a fucking maid to you? Geez."

It was all Luke could do to keep from laughing. Michael looked like the exact opposite of the definition of maid . "Merman, then," he said, trying to restrain his voice. "Sorry."

A huff came from Michael's general direction.

"But," Luke started, his questions were far from answered. In fact, a hundred more seemed to bubble up inside of him every second. "How is it possible? Like... how did it happen?"

"Just like anything happens." The merman's mouth formed a grim line. "You do something stupid and you deal with the consequences."

Clearly that was all Michael had to say about that. As vague of an answer that was, Luke decided to take it for now. "Who else knows? Do your parents know? Your siblings?"

Michael narrowed his eyes at him. "I live with my aunt."

"Oh." Luke was taken aback. He was surprised how little he actually knew about Michael. "Does she know?"

"She does. She's not really my aunt, though. She knew about me and she took me in."

Luke noticed that Michael's fingers were no longer tapping but were carefully being kept still. "Well, what about your friends, then?" he asked quickly.

Michael snorted. "You really don't know anything about me, do you?"

"I know you're a mermai—man," Luke offered, "and I know you're grumpy all the time."

"So you _do_ know me, I'm impressed."

Luke was close to banging his head on the table but decided to settle on groaning instead. "Do you speak any other languages besides sarcasm?" he asked, exasperated. To his surprise, he heard a low chuckle coming from the other boy's lips. He felt like he'd witnessed a star being born. "Oh, so you do laugh?"

Michael composed himself and directed his gaze towards the ceiling. "Don't get used to it, Hemmings; I only laugh at funny things."

Somehow, Luke's annoyance started to fade. Knowing Michael was capable of being anything other than an asshat suddenly made him a lot more bearable. Although he was still waiting for a thank you for saving his ass—pardon,  _tail,_  earlier today.

"Luke!" Without shame, Calum planted his butt on the table in front of him. "Oh, and hey, Michael," he added. "I'm guessing you're here to copy the results of our morning hard work?"

Michael straightened himself. "You guessed correctly."

Luke laid back as Calum shoved a piece of paper in Michael's hands and explained their tallying system to him.

He wondered what happened to Michael's parents. Did they die? Was he taken away? Did they kick him out? And then there was this whole 'no friends' thing; even though he could understand why Michael didn't have any friends, he had a hard time believing Michael's cool composure on the fact. Everyone needed at least one friend, right? Or was he just really close with his aunt?

"All done," Michael said, putting down his pen and shoving his papers into his bag.

Luke was brought back to the present. Was he leaving already? "Class hasn't even started yet," he protested.

Michael stood up and swung the bag over his shoulder. "I know, but I have more important things to do than Math."

He put his hand on Luke's shoulder in a painfully tight grip and leaned in so close their noses almost touched. Luke's breath hitched. Michael spoke, his voice barely a whisper. "Listen, whether you want it or not you have become part of something you don't understand. You can't talk about this to anyone, not even Calum, you understand?" He waited for Luke to nod before continuing. His grip softened. "Come over tonight at nine and I will answer your questions." Then he turned around and left the classroom.

As soon as Michael was out of sight, Luke let out the breath he hadn't noticed he'd been holding. He would've felt excited about getting answers if Michael hadn't made it sound so... frightening.

A strange sensation played around on his cheek where Michael's breath had brushed his skin. He brought his fingertips to his face and noticed his vision go blurry, his gaze fixating to an unseen point in the distance.

"Dude," Calum said, waving a hand in front of Luke's eyes.

Luke snapped out of it. "Hm, what?"

"I asked if something was up with you and that Michael dude. He acted weird as fuck getting all up in your personal space just now." Calum frowned, his eyes big and worried.

"He threatened to kill me if I told anyone about earlier today, is all," he replied. Technically it wasn't a lie.

Calum's frown intensified. "That's no reason to get up in your face. If he ever does that again I'm gonna have to punch him in the face."

"Thanks, Cal." A smile pulled Luke's lips upwards. "I don't think that will be necessary, though."

He just wished he was as sure as he sounded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! If you didn't, please tell me why. Feedback makes me a better writer!
> 
> Also please tell me if you like the length of the chapters as it is or if you'd like to have them longer (which would mean a longer wait too).
> 
> If you want to chat about 5SOS and mermaids, come find me on [my Tumblr](http://cliffordiste.tumblr.com/)!


	3. Storm in a Teacup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooop, here it is! I finished it yesterday but it didn't feel right to post it with everything going on in Brussels. If you can, please take a moment to pray for/think of everyone involved and everyone in similar situations. Peace is a luxury, let's not forget that.
> 
> Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the third chapter. It's a long one! x

The house was completely normal, it was smaller than the house Luke lived in but then Michael didn't have two parents and two brothers. The walls were off white and plastered with a grainy pattern. The front door was on the right hand side and a small garage with ivy growing on its walls, clung next to it to the wall. A small sidewalk lead the way to the door, sided by an empty drive. Even the bronze doorknob and the little window in the door were like any other Luke had ever seen, but he still felt nervous as he stood there on Michael's porch.

His fingers trembled as they pressed down on the doorbell. He could hear a clear ringing coming from inside. There were footsteps coming down a staircase and a lock being opened. He saw Michael's figure, distorted through the stained glass, before the door was opened.

Luke pulled himself together, straightening his back and meeting Michael's gaze. "Hi," he breathed.

"Hey," Michael replied, an awkward smile playing on his lips. It unsettled Luke, last time he'd seen him, Michael had pretty much threatened him and now he was trying to be nice? He didn't understand this boy. "Come in." Michael waved him over and turned around to walk inside.

Luke closed the door behind him before following. Michael took him through a cream coloured hallway with several pieces of modern art on the wall—Luke hated all of them—to what he presumed was the living room. It was spacious but not necessarily big.

"My aunt's out," Michael said as he made himself comfortable on the sofa. "Which is good, now we won't be disturbed."

Luke guessed that was supposed to make him feel better but all it did was strengthen the uneasy feeling in his gut.

He shrugged it off, this was stupid. Michael had only threatened him once and it hadn't been that serious. If the wrong person were to find out Michael was a merman, Michael could get into serious trouble. Maybe other mermen, if there were any, would be exposed as a consequence. He could imagine Michael didn't want to add that to his conscious. Still, Luke hadn't liked the threat. Michael hadn't even thanked him for earlier today.

"Oh, would you like something to drink or eat maybe?" Michael offered, probably sensing Luke's discomfort.

Luke shrugged. "Sure. What d'you got?"

Michael jumped up and walked to the next room. "Cola, 7 Up, Ice Tea, beer, coffee, tea, milk... do you like any of those?" he yelled from what was probably the kitchen. "Preferably something cold, I'm too lazy to make anything hot."

"Coffee for me, thanks," Luke said. He would've been fine with anything but he liked the idea of Michael making an effort for him—to make up for his ungrateful behaviour, so to speak. "I like it strong and with sugar, please."

An annoyed grumble came from the kitchen, followed by some clanking noises and a bang of cupboards swinging shut. The rattling of the machine started and Michael walked back into the room.

"I didn't mean to be a dick, just so you know," he said, nonchalantly sitting down on the armrest next to Luke. His words were apologetic but his tone not so much. "No one has ever found out before, and I kind of liked it that way, I can't help it that you ruined that." He shrugged, "I just wanted to make sure you didn't go around telling people what you'd seen, and I need you to hear the details first; I can't have you thinking I sunbathe on cliffs and sing sailors to their deaths."

"Anyone who thinks _you_ sunbathe must be blinder than a hamster with no eyes," Luke snorted. The nervous feeling in his stomach slowly ebbed away when he saw amusement soften Michael's face.

"Who knew," Michael said, feigning happy surprise, "you're actually capable of being funny!" As soon as he noticed the smug contentment in Luke's eyes he added, "Don't get your hopes up, I myself am an incredibly funny guy, so that's something you'll have to live up to."

Luke frowned at the last part. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I'm not exactly gonna let you off after this, am I? You've discovered the most important secret in this entire shit hole of a city, you'll have to earn my trust before I leave you alone." Michael's tone was matter-of-factly. "I have to secure my own safety and that of my kind. It probably won't be too bad, though. I suppose I could use someone on my side... something like an ally," Michael finished.

The air holed up inside of Luke escaped as a wave of relief washed over him. "For a moment there I thought you were going to say 'friend'," he said, clutching a hand to his chest.

Michael looked away. "Wasted worry, I already told you I don't do friends."

There he was again, being all melodramatic. Clearly, Michael couldn't take a joke. "Well, I think you're wrong," Luke challenged, "everyone needs friends."

"That's not what I said." Michael's voice was raspy. For a split second, his posture slumped. Then he shoved himself off the sofa and walked into the kitchen. "Coffee's ready."

Having a moment alone, Luke took the opportunity to study the room. It was boring and almost suspiciously average. There was a white, rectangular coffee table in the centre of the room, a sofa lining one its longitudes and an armchair at its head. A pile of coasters sat on the surface, accompanied by a plain white sugar pot with a spoon sticking out of it, and two candles. Apart from that, the table was plain and empty; no magazines, no letters, no traces of spilt tea and no framed photos.

The same applied to the cupboard that covered the wall. It had its required dishware and some books but there were no random personal objects to be found on any of the shelves. It felt off, like he was sitting in a hotel lobby rather than a living room, like people didn't really live here. He supposed it could make sense since it was only Michael and his aunt—who wasn't even really his aunt—living here. Michael apparently 'didn't do friends' and Luke guessed his aunt wasn't big on visitors either, given the fact that Michael had specifically invited him on a night she wasn't home.

He caught himself feeling bad for the merman. It couldn't be fun, carrying around such a huge secret on your own at all times. He knew a little of what that was like. Luke reminded himself that he was now victim of that same secret, and his pity for Michael shrunk. Michael was right, Luke was stuck with him now.

Lost in thought, he didn't notice Mr. Merman returning until a cup of dark, steaming coffee was held in front of his face. Hastily, he grabbed the cup with both hands and shifted his attention back to the room. "Thanks," he said, blowing cool air into the hot liquid.

"Sugar's on the table. Have as much as you want, it's been a long time since it was used as currency," Michael said, motioning towards said coffee table.

While Luke leaned forward to reach for the sugar pot, Michael nested himself on the armchair that stood at Luke's side of the sofa. "But," he said before pausing and taking a sip from his own cup, "you came here to ask questions."

Luke stopped shoveling sugar in his cup and met Michael's gaze.

"Ask away," Michael said, his eyes sparkling.

As Luke leaned back into the sofa, holding his cup securely on his knee, his mind started racing. He had so many questions. Where to start? Michael stared at him patiently while sipping his drink.

"Okay," Luke said, he'd made up his mind. "Why aren't you always a mermaid? From your distressing situation this afternoon I take it you can't control it?"

Michael masterfully ignored Luke's deliberate use of the word 'mermaid'. "I change when my skin comes into contact with any fluid that consist mainly of water. I haven't figured out the exact percentage yet because I suck at Math and I'm lazy as fuck." Michael stopped as he seemed to realise something. "Wow, that almost rhymed," he muttered to himself.

Luke suppressed the urge to facepalm. Maybe if he was without friends for as long as Michael, he'd start making jokes to himself, too, so he tried not to judge— _tried_ being the keyword.

"I can try to put off the transformation for a couple of seconds but it takes a lot of energy and it hurts." The expression on Michael's face made it clear that he wasn't lying; his lips were pressed together, the memory of agony etched in his eyes. "Small amounts of water are no problem, though, I usually vaporize them before they set off the transformation."

He gave Luke a moment to soak it all in.

"Wait," Luke said, knitting his eyebrows together, "you can _vaporize_ water?"

"I can control it, actually." Michael shrugged. "Being a merman—" He emphasized the word. "—comes with some handy tools to protect yourself from unwanted attention of water based fluids: I can move it without touching it, I can heat it up until it boils and vaporizes, I can cool it down until it freezes up, and I can change its form. All very nice but none of these are actually useful to save yourself in public, apparently."

It was now that Luke noticed Michael was drinking coffee as well. "So that's why you're not burning your tongue drinking your coffee while mine's still scalding hot—you lowered the temperature of yours?"

"Damn, here I was thinking I looked cool pretending to drink a high temperature beverage," Michael said, a sly smirk curling the corners of his lips. "Wish you'd pick up the difference between mermaid and merman just as quickly."

"Oh, I picked up on that, don't worry," Luke said, pursing his lips. He was already thinking about what he was going to ask next when an idea struck him. "Could you show me?—the temperature thing, I mean," he added quickly.

The corners of Michael's mouth curled up even further, if possible, and he set his cup down on the table. "Thought you'd never ask."

Luke flinched back involuntarily when Michael raised his hand, and earned himself a snort. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you," Michael reassured him. "Put your cup on your knee and hold the handle."

Luke did what he was told, trying his best to keep his fingers from trembling. Curiosity bubbled up in his lower stomach when he saw Michael flexing his fingers. He couldn't help but notice Michael had tiny hands; his fingers were short and his skin looked pale and soft. He wondered how these delicate hands could possibly control water.

"Okay, watch this," Michael said.

While his gaze jumped back and forth between the cup, Michael's hands and Michael's face, Luke waited. The look on the merman's face was a mixture of intense concentration and a small amount of excitement. His fingers moved in a pattern that looked like the one Luke had seen Michael do at the pond.

Then Luke felt heat starting to radiate from his cup, searing his fingertips slightly. Astonished, he looked at the bubbles rising up on the surface of his drink as he resisted the urge to pull his hand away from the porcelain. "Unbelievable," he blurted out.

Michael retracted his hand and the boiling slowly ceased. "Do you want to put your finger in to check?" he asked, a smug look in his eyes.

"No, I'm good," Luke laughed, and shook his head. He had no doubt that his response was as Michael had expected, but this time, Luke didn't care. Instead, he felt excitement swimming through his body, waiting to come out in a bubbly laugh.

To not give Michael the satisfaction of having him in his grip completely, he said, "Can only merpeople do this or could humans learn how to do it as well?"

Michael cocked his head to the side, puckering his lips. "I don't know. I've never seen humans do it before—apart from witches, but they use different techniques," he said. "We're a different branch from the same ancestral tree so maybe you have it in you as well, only your magic 'muscles' are underdeveloped. I don't know, it's a possibility," he admitted. "Why, did you want to try?" he inquired slyly, raising an eyebrow.

Luke snickered. "No, thank you. I'd probably just make an ass of myself." Even if it were possible, he imagined it would be like trying to raise the other eyebrow than you usually do and only ending up making a series of weird faces.

"Fair enough," Michael said. "Shall I move on to freezing?"

Luke nodded eagerly and Michael shifted in his seat. Then he moved his hand in another gesture unknown to Luke and the porcelain in Luke's hand grew cold, a thin layer of ice covering his fingers.

"Instant ice coffee," Luke remarked. "Nice!"

Michael scolded at him but his eyes were twinkling. "It's much better than _nice_ , thank you very much," he said, closing his eyes and sticking his nose in the air. He ruined the moment by opening one eye to peek at Luke's reaction through his lashes. He moved his hand again and the coffee went back to liquid.

Luke chuckled, shook his head, and brought the cup to his mouth. As soon as his lips touched the warm liquid, he saw movement in the corner of his eye. He noticed too late. Cold air tickled his face, a mild pain pricking at his lips. Before he knew it, they were stuck to his now frozen drink. He tried to talk but he couldn't move his mouth or tongue, and nothing came out except for a few unintelligible noises.

To his left, Michael was laughing his ass off. "Instant ice coffee," he howled. "Nice!"

Luke glared daggers at him, groaning angrily. He swore that, as soon as he got loose, he'd kill this stupid merboy. "Iff nawt fwunnee!" he managed, making Michael laugh even harder.

Do you remember those hot days where you'd lick your ice lolly and your tongue would get stuck and you'd just have to wait until it melted? That's what it felt like.

"Mwaihkul!"

"All right, all right," Michael said, wiping tears from his eyes. "Stop being so dramatic." He moved his hand, more carefully this time, and Luke felt the ice on his lips slowly melt away and fall back into the cup. Quickly, he sucked his lips into his mouth to warm them up. "You're an asshole," were the first words rolling off his tongue as soon as it was freed.

Michael shrugged, his eyes still sparkly with laughter. "Tell me something I don't know."

Luke tried to remain angry but he saw Michael's lips twitch, and he couldn't help himself. "Okay, fine, I deserved that. I'll no longer underestimate your powers, oh great Triton."

The merman made a graceful bow and sat back down. "I'd say sorry but, really, how could I resist?" He paused, looking at his phone—since Michael claimed to not have any friends, Luke guessed he was looking at the time. "Any other questions?" he inquired lightly.

For a moment, Luke went quiet and bit his lip. "Well," he started, "I was just wondering—and if it's too personal I get it, don't worry—what happened to your parents?" he asked carefully. He caught himself leaning towards Michael and quickly straightened his back, slinging one of his feet over his knee.

Michael's face turned blank and Luke immediately regretted asking. "I don't like to talk about them," Michael said, his voice raw. A stream of apologies was about to spill from Luke's lips but Michael was already speaking again. "When I changed, I had to leave them—for their own sake," he said flatly, his hands fidgeting in his lap. "I miss them every day," he added in a soft voice, eyes cast on the floor.

"I'm sorry." Luke didn't know what else to say.

Michael shrugged weakly. "It's all right, it was my own fault in the first place. I couldn't put their lives at risk so I left."

Tired lines cut through Michael's soft complexion and Luke discovered that it hurt to see him like this. He reached over and placed a hand on Michael's knee. "You're okay," he said softly, determined to meet the other boy's gaze.

Michael gave him a weak smile. "Thanks."

Luke's hand lingered on the warm fabric of Michael's jeans a little too long. As soon as he noticed Michael shifting his feet awkwardly, Luke retracted his hand and looked away.

The next few moments were spent in silence. Michael was staring out of the window, his mind far away, and Luke was unsure of what to do. He wondered what was going on in Michael's mind; was he thinking about his family, wondering if they missed him as much as he missed them? Was he mulling it over in his head, wondering if he'd made the right decision by leaving them? Luke wanted to comfort him but he didn't know Michael well enough to say something useful so he decided to give the silence a chance.

He sighed and sipped his coffee. Just as Luke was wondering if maybe he should just leave, Michael spoke up again.

"I'm sorry," Michael sighed. "I didn't mean to—I just do that sometimes, I'm sorry." He looked at Luke with piercing green eyes.

"That's all right." Luke asked no further, he was afraid Michael might fall apart if he pried any more information out of him. "So, your family is a sensitive subject, I get it, I won't ask about them anymore," he said, looking over at Michael who swallowed and nodded, visibly relieved. "What I really want to know, though, is why don't you turn when you pee?" He knew it wasn't that funny but it brought a smile on Michael's face anyway. Sometimes intentions are more important than content.

"My own bodily fluids have no effect on me. Spit, tears, pee... they're all safe. Well, as safe as usual."

Luke pretended to be deep in thought, his eyebrows knitting together and his lips forming a small pout. "And what about _other people's_ bodily fluids?" he asked finally.

Michael snorted. "I have no idea. No one's ever peed on me before, if that's what you're asking," he said, chuckling.

A grin spread on Luke's face; Michael had managed to make it actually funny. "Good. Those are the things I like to know about people before I start hanging out with them."

"Oh, so Calum's never been peed on either?"

Luke shook his head, laughing. "Not that I know of, no. He's the kind of person who would pee on someone else, come to think about it..."

The turquoise haired boy scrunched his nose. "I don't want to hear about it," he complained, laughing at Luke.

No matter how hard he tried, Luke couldn't get rid of the smile that was plastered on his face as he met Michael's gaze. A heartbeat passed in silence, neither of them breaking eye contact.

Eventually, Michael looked away and cleared his throat. "So, you got any more _appropriate_ questions?"

Luke put his cup down on the coaster with a light thump, and scratched the back of his neck. There were so many things he wanted to know but most of them were about Michael's past—a subject he'd promised he wouldn't bring up anymore. He was dying to know Michael better, the mermaid part didn't seem nearly as interesting anymore.

In the end, Luke opted for a round of quick fire questions. Within several minutes, he learned that mermaids come in all sizes, colours and shapes. They can live in fresh water as well as salt water but usually prefer the sea because it's bigger. Since it's hard to talk when under water, mermaids have developed a way of speaking without actually speaking—Luke had no idea what that meant, though. Michael hadn't seen another mermaid in years but didn't mind.

When Luke asked why Michael didn't just go and live with the other mermaids in the ocean, Michael had gone quiet for a moment. "I love light so much," he'd said curtly.

Suddenly Michael hushed him and turned his head towards the door to the hallway, his ears moving up as they strained slightly. His eyes widened and he pulled Luke up by his arm.

"What's going on?" Luke barely managed to snatch his phone from the sofa before the merman dragged him towards the glass, sliding doors that lead to the terrace and garden. "What are you _doing_?" He was just about to tell Michael off when he heard it too. A car was pulling up on the driveway.

Michael opened the door and pushed Luke outside. "Wait until you hear the front door close, then run along the left side of the house until you reach the sidewalk. Don't risk walking past the kitchen windows when you're on the street, find another way home. And stop looking so damn suspicious," he said, the words tumbling out so fast Luke could barely follow.

Luke opened his mouth to speak but the sound of car doors opening and closing cut him off. Even though he didn't understand what was going on, his heart leapt up into his throat. Michael being nervous made _him_ nervous. His feet wouldn't move.

Keys were being put in a lock. The click that followed sounded like a gun being fired.

"You have to go. I'll explain later," Michael hissed, giving Luke a shove. "Go!"

Then the doors slid shut. Luke heard the slam of the front door and the clicking of heels coming from inside. He quickly hid around the corner, pressing his body against the wall, his heart beating aggressively against his ribs.

"Hey, Michael. How was your night?"

As soon as he heard the woman's voice, he took off, keeping close to the wall. There were no windows on this side of the house, but he tried to be as silent as he could anyway.

When he reached the street, he took a right. He actually needed to go left but that would mean he'd have to walk past the house, something Michael had strictly forbidden. He'd have to walk an extra block.

Grumbling, he sauntered down the road as inconspicuously as he could, his shoulders only relaxing when Michael's house was far behind him. He would ask Michael about it tomorrow.


	4. A Fair Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys. I hope you had a nice Easter!  
> I'm so sorry this took so long, this chapter was hell to write so I ended up writing a bunch of future scenes first. I hope you'll like it anyway!

Luke didn't get the chance to ask Michael about it the next day; Michael didn't show up at school that day or the next. It worried Luke, he wondered what was going on but he didn't have anything to go on. He wasn't usually one to worry, maybe because most people weren't in such a fragile position Michael was in. The fact that, if Michael _had_ been discovered it would most likely have been all over the news, was little comfort to him. He just hoped he was okay.

The hours slid by at snail speed as Luke didn't even bother with trying to listen to his teachers. He found himself staring out of the windows, looking at the streets and squares around the school, hoping to catch a glimpse of blue hair. In the halls and the cafeteria, it was no different. It didn't matter where he looked; Michael was nowhere to be seen.

Luke nibbled at his sandwich, trying to listen to Calum's story about football practice yesterday, but no matter how hard he tried the words just wouldn't register. His mind kept going back to Michael. After being shoved out the door so suddenly, Luke hadn't heard so much as a peep from the merman. He knew Michael didn't have his number but he could've at least showed up at school after Luke walked those two extra blocks home that day.

A voice repeatedly calling his name pulled him back to the present. Friday, lunchtime at the cafeteria, the table in the back, furthest to the left. Their usual spot. He hadn't noticed Calum had stopped talking. Calum's eyebrows were knitted together, his lips slightly parted. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, no, of course," Luke stammered. "I just drifted off for a minute." He didn't even know why he cared so much about Michael, they weren't friends.

"You've been doing that a lot lately," Calum said. His gaze inspected every inch of Luke's face, looking for red flags. When he didn't find any, his eyes met Luke's. "You know, if you don't think I'm interesting, you could just give me a heads up so I don't waste my time trying to entertain you." Small wrinkles formed around his eyes.

"Okay," Luke said, folding his hands on the table. He straightened himself, took a deep breath and leaned over. "You're boring," he said in a serious voice, looking his friend straight in the eye. "Oh, thank goodness that's out!" he cried, bringing a hand to his heart.

Calum shot him his best annoyed glare but the twitching of his lips betrayed him. " _You're_  boring!"

"Your mom's boring." Luke's lips broke into a grin.

Calum gasped, eyebrows shooting up so far they almost blended into his hairline. "You take that back," he demanded, laughter hiding in his voice.

Luke couldn't help it and burst into a series of chuckles, sending little pieces of bread flying everywhere. He quickly went to cover his mouth with his hand but Calum was already on him and tackled him, knocking him off of his chair and sending both of them sprawling to the ground. Luke did a weak attempt to fight back, but ended up with Calum straddling his waist anyway.

"Take that back _right now_!" Calum had Luke's arms pinned to the ground. Luke tried to wriggle free but it was no use; his muscles were soft with laughter, and Calum was stronger anyway. Seeing his friend bump up and down with the movements of his own laughter, only made him laugh harder. Calum raised a finger and pointed it at Luke's stomach, slowly bringing it closer.

Luke shrieked. "All right, all right!" he wheezed out, threatened by Calum's implied tickle death. "There are no boring mothers here."

"Good." Calum sat back, a satisfied smirk on his face.

Luke felt his lips twitch. "Only boring sons," he muttered under his breath. Within a split second, Calum's fingers were all over his stomach, easily finding the most sensitive spots like they had done so many times before. Luke howled with involuntary laughter and fought to free himself but he was no match for Calum.

Only when Calum decided the penalty had been sufficient, he poked Luke in his belly button one last time before getting up and offering him a hand. For a moment, the blonde remained on the floor, still laughing and trying to catch his breath. He took Calum's hand and was pulled back onto his feet. Clutching his stomach—the muscles hurt—he looked up at Calum. "Let's fight this out in a fair battle of Mario Kart tonight," he offered.

"Done."

~

They were in the middle of a race when there was a knock at the door. "Come in," Luke said, not taking his eyes off the screen. Just because Calum was bad at this game didn't mean he didn't need to pay attention, the AIs could be pretty intimidating—Luke found himself being bothered by Princess Peach most of all—. His brother Jack opened the door and peeked inside before fully appearing.

"There was a kid at the door, he handed me this," he said, holding out a pile of cotton in his left hand.

Recognising them as the clothes he lent to Michael the day at the park, Luke jumped up, his controller falling to the floor. "Is he still here?" he asked. Before Jack had the time to answer, Luke was already pushing past him and running down the stairs in record time. He threw open the front door and walked to stand in the middle of the street, scanning the sidewalks for anyone with fluffy blue hair and soft edges, but there was no one that matched that description. Disappointed, Luke made his way back inside. After closing the door behind him, he leaned against the hard wood, his shoulders slumping.

Jack was waiting inside. "Sorry, man. He's gone," he said, putting his hand on Luke's shoulder.

"That's all right," Luke mumbled, looking anywhere but Jack's face.

His brother narrowed his eyes at him but didn't push it, softly squeezing his shoulder instead. Then his eyes lit up, little wrinkles lining his eyelids, and the corners of his lips curling upwards. His hand moved to Luke's neck as he pulled him into a bear hug, ruffling Luke's hair with his free hand.

"Hey!" Luke complained into his brother's chest. He wrapped his arms around him nonetheless, his hands finding each other on the small of Jack's back.

Jack released him with a final ruffle of his hair. "Now go and find Calum—before he beats you for the first time in history," he said, winking at his little brother.

Luke laughed and quickly made his way upstairs. Calum hadn't moved from where he sat on the bed, controller in his hands. Plopping down next to him, Luke found the pile of clothes Jack had left on his pillow.

"You know how this looks, right?" Calum said. Something in his tone suggested that this was more of a warning than an accusation. Luke didn't understand, he'd already told him what happened—more or less. The darker boy seemed to notice his confusion. "I know what happened, but your brother doesn't. I'm thinking there's a chance that maybe it might look a little bit strange to him," he clarified.

Thoughtfully, Luke knitted his eyebrows together. Calum had a point. Knowing his brother, Luke suspected Jack would jump to the worst conclusions—but at the same time, Jack was a good brother; he wouldn't say a word to their parents. Luke decided he didn't care, and shrugged. "Jack's cool."

Calum shrugged in response. "All right."

It wasn't as if he was going to see Michael again. He hadn't seen him in days, the only sign of life being the delivery of his clothes at the door. He shook his head to rid himself of his thoughts. He didn't want to think about Michael, he didn't need this; the sooner he forgot, the better.

"You okay?" Calum's voice cut through his thoughts, pulling him out of his own head.

Luke noticed he'd been fingering the fabric of the shirt Michael had borrowed, and quickly snatched his hand back. "Yeah, fine," he lied. "Just a bit worried." That wasn't a lie.

Calum finally paused the game and put the controller on the bed, rolling over to face Luke. "If something happened to Michael, he wouldn't have brought you your clothes, now would he?" he said, raising his eyebrows.

"I suppose not," Luke mumbled. "But he promised me he'd explain what happened," he whined, a wave of impatience washing over him. "You know I hate being left in the dark."

A slow breath left Calum's lips. "I know. It'll be fine, Luke, trust me." He shuffled closer to Luke, swinging an arm around his shoulder and dragging him down so they lay next to each other on the bed, their sides touching. Luke turned to face his friend and wrapped his arm around Calum's waist. The muscles in Calum's stomach tensed as he chuckled. "Didn't Jack hug you long enough?" he teased.

Luke frowned. "How did you know?" He blinked up at Calum.

"Your hair told me."

A smile crept onto Luke's face and he buried his face deeper into Calum's shirt.

That night, sleep wouldn't come easy to Luke. As soon as his head hit the pillow, his brain started mulling everything over. He tried his best to shut his mind up and eventually succeeded, but his body remained restless.

He decided to get up for a pee, and when he returned to his bedroom, his eyes found the pile neatly folded clothes on his floor. Sighing, he picked them up so he could put them away somewhere he wouldn't have to look at them. He'd intended to put them with the laundry but upon closer inspection, he noticed they'd already been washed. The fabric felt crisp and smelled of flowers.

His gaze fell on a patch of white against the dark blue fabric, near the right hand pocket. Quickly, Luke pulled the piece of paper out and folded it open. A smile found its way onto his face and stayed there until he fell asleep.


	5. Apple Pie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the new chapter, hooray! I hope you enjoy it and if you can, please let me know what you think. (I'm not even going to sugarcoat it, I'm desperate for some feedback). Anyway, have fun reading (:

He had decided to wait until morning, texting Michael at 2.30AM seemed a bit much. When he woke up, a flowery scent filled his nose as if he needed reminding that before going to sleep, he'd put on the shirt Michael had borrowed. The fresh smell helped clear the cotton cloud of sleep in his head.

He grabbed his phone from beside his pillow; it was 11 AM. Even on Saturdays he couldn't properly sleep in until noon. The note he had found lay tucked away safely underneath his pillow, he got it out and read it again; _Text me. Don't mention the thing_ , followed by Michael's number. Luke thought he had waited long enough and wasted no more time texting Michael.

 **You** : hey, you all right? what the hell happened? [11.07 AM]  
**You** : it's Luke btw [11.08 AM]

 **Michael** : I figured [11.10 AM]  
**Michael** : I'm all right don't worry [11.10 AM]  
**Michael** : aunt came home early, she's not keen on visitors [11.12 AM]

 **You** : wanna come over today? [11.13 AM]

 ~

 Luke fixed his quiff in the mirror for the third time in five minutes. His hair was fine, his hands were the problem: they wouldn't stop moving. Michael had said he'd come over around one in the afternoon, and as it was, he was already ten minutes late and it made Luke queasy. What if Michael didn't show up?

The doorbell rang and Luke sprang up from his bed and raced downstairs, effectively beating his brother to the door. He shoved Jack aside—who grumbled and made his way back to the living room—and raked a hand through his hair one last time before opening the door.

Michael stood there, hands in his pockets. He smiled. "Luke, hi!"

"Yeah, hey," Luke said, waving stupidly, "come in." He held the door open and watched Michael's head bop up and down as he walked inside and looked around. Luke was just about to ask Michael to come upstairs when an energetic voice sounded from the kitchen.

"Hey, Cal," the voice said.

Judging by the smell that he now realised filled Luke's nose, his mother had been busy baking an apple pie. With all the nerves overwhelming his senses, Luke hadn't noticed before. It would explain why Jack had been lingering in the living room...

"Hello, Mrs. Hemmi—" Michael started, his voice caught when Liz appeared from the kitchen. He knew that face.

She smiled broadly at him. "Michael, hi! What a surprise, I expected to see someone else," she said, wiping her hands on her apron, "I didn't know you two were friends."

"We're not," Luke and Michael said in unison. Luke looked at his mother apologetically. "We have a school project together so we're kinda stuck with each other," he lied. Michael nodded enthusiastically in confirmation.

Liz's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, okay. Did Calum find another partner?"

Luke chewed on his bottom lip. "It's for History," he said. History was the only class he and Calum didn't have together. He figured that, if he was going to lie, he was going to do it well. Now his mother wouldn't be able to check for the truth with Calum —not that he thought she would, but just in case.

He hopped from one foot to the other, he just wanted to get upstairs already, he was dying to talk to Michael.

"I just hope Luke's good with Romans. It's one of the few subjects I actually care about," Michael piped up, "If your son fu—messes this up, I'll punch him the nose. Just saying," he added with a shrug of his shoulders.

Liz laughed. "Well, I remember _my_ lessons certainly never had your interest."

"You taught him?" Luke asked, eyes wide. He couldn't stop his jaw from dropping.

"Oh yes," Liz said, "he was in my Math class in his first year. I tried to get him to work but he simply refused. I think the only teacher he actually worked for was that Culture teacher of yours... what's his name again?"

Luke eyed Michael sideways. "Mr. Robeck?" he tried.

Liz's eyes lit up. "That's the one! Mr. Robeck. He once showed me this paper you did on mythical creatures because he thought it was that good. I have to say, I was impressed! And somewhat jealous you didn't work that hard for my class. I wanted to talk to you about it but I didn't see you for the next weeks," she said, addressing Michael.

Luke guessed she specifically didn't make it a question so Michael had the space to not reply without being rude. He looked over at Michael and a wave of sudden worry washed over him, settling in his gut.

The otherwise pink cheeked merman now looked completely drained of blood, his jaw clenched. Liz saw it, too.

"Well," Luke said, clearing his throat, "we better get started on the project. Let me know when the pie's ready!" he told his mother. "Come on, Michael, the Romans have been waiting for ages for us to finally do this project, let's not keep them waiting any longer." He grabbed Michael's sleeve and dragged him up the stairs, giving his mother a small wave.

"Are you all right? What happened?" Luke asked once he closed the bedroom door behind them. "Is it mermaid stuff?"

Michael just shook his head. A little bit of colour had returned to his face. "I'm okay," he said, his voice hoarse. He was swaying on his feet slightly. Quickly, Luke grabbed Michael by the shoulders and sat him down on the bed.

"Do you want a glass of water?" he asked.

The turquoise haired boy shook his head weakly.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk," Luke said, "I liked it better that way, anyway." A snort came from Michael's direction, it made Luke smile. "Be right back," he said.

He got up and walked downstairs to the kitchen. It still smelled heavenly in there even though Liz had gotten rid of her apron and was now reading a magazine at the dinner table. She looked up when Luke came in. "Is he all right?" she asked, "what happened?"

Luke suppressed a smile. He was too much like his mother sometimes. "I don't know," he said, opening the cupboard and grabbing two glasses, "I don't really know him that well. Maybe it has something to do with why he doesn't live with his parents?" he suggested, ducking his head into the fridge and grabbing a bottle of Coca Cola. He didn't know if Michael even liked cola but he would just have to deal. Turning around, he saw Liz staring at him. "What?" he asked, blinking.

"If he's having trouble with the situation at home, he can get help through school. He knows that, right?" she said, worry etched in her eyes.

A chuckle tumbled from Luke's lips. "That's probably the last place he wants to go but I'll make sure to tell him," he told his mother.

He clutched the bottle under his arm, held the glasses with his left hand and grabbed some chocolate cookies with his right. "He's all right, don't worry," he said, giving Liz a reassuring smile before turning around. "We'll be upstairs."

Because his hands were full, he had to open his door with his elbow, almost dropping the glasses in the process. Michael's laugh immediately boomed into his ears. It looked like he was his old self again.

Luke frowned. "The least you could do is help me out here, they're _your_  cookies as well as mine," he snapped. This seemed to sway Michael and he rushed to Luke's side to relieve him of the cola bottle. "Put it on the desk," Luke commanded, not unfriendly. Secretly he was glad Michael was okay. He handed the merboy a cookie and filled both glasses.

Out of nowhere, Michael spoke. "I made that paper with a friend," he announced after taking a bite of his cookie.

Luke's eyebrows shot up. "I thought you didn't do friends."

"I don't," Michael said, shaking his head, "she was my only friend. She died," he added. His voice had a forced flat sound, and he pretended to be interested in the lamp on Luke's bedside table.

"Oh." Luke didn't really know what to say. He felt like Michael wasn't telling him everything but he didn't push. "I'm sorry."

The merboy shrugged and licked some crumbs off his lips. "It was years ago," he said. Somehow, the words sounded like _I learned my lesson_.

Silence filled the room as Luke nibbled on his cookie. "Why didn't you tell me my mom used to teach you?" he asked finally, changing the subject.

Michael shrugged. "I hadn't really thought about it. The dots only connected when I saw her," he admitted, "I've never been at school much and it's been years since she was my Math teacher."

That made sense.

"I'm sorry I disappeared. My aunt wanted me home for the new moon and I didn't know how to contact you," Michael said after a brief silence.

Luke cocked his head to the side. "I thought you were a mermaid, not a werewolf?"

A smirk appeared on Michael's face. "I said _new_  moon, not _full_  moon. There's a difference."

Michael patiently explained to him that merfolk are creatures of the moon, much like the sea and its tides—and werewolves, if there were any. During a new moon, a merman or mermaid's powers would be heightened and could have some strange and unforeseen side effects, so it was safest to stay home.

"So yeah, she can be a bit overprotective at times but at least she cares," he said, shrugging his shoulders. He averted his gaze and seemed to focus on something in the corner. "Holy crap," he exclaimed, jumping off the bed and bouncing to where Luke's Playstation was stored, "you play Thief, too?"

Luke nodded and Michael rambled on as he grabbed the cover and traced figures over the surface with his finger. "It's one of my favourite games ever! The graphics, the story, the different play styles... I love everything about it! I've played it through at least four times."

"Wow," Luke said, his lips forming an impressive pout, "I haven't even played it through once, I got stuck."

Raising his eyebrows, Michael looked over his shoulder at Luke. "Really? How come?"

"I er—the asylum level happened," Luke stuttered, feeling a blush creeping up his face, "After jumping out of my skin several times, I decided that the level was too creepy for me." He rubbed the back of his neck self consciously.

Michael didn't seem to notice his embarrassment—either that or he chose to ignore it. "I could help you play it through, if you want. The rest of the game isn't nearly as bad," he offered.

Luke gladly accepted. Michael played through the scariest parts and handed the controller over to Luke when it was done—warning him whenever he'd remember there was a jump scare. Luke was enjoying himself and lost awareness of anything that wasn't Michael or the game.

~

Three knocks at the door startled both Luke _and_  Michael, and they screamed in unison. Realising the knocking wasn't in-game, Luke yelled for the person on the other side of his bedroom door to come in and paused the game.

The door opened and Liz came in, holding two saucers with a piece of steaming apple pie on each. "Who wants a piece?" she asked, smiling broadly.

Without hesitation, Luke crawled over Michael's lap and snatched one of the platters from his mother's hands. Liz looked at him with a disapproving look and Luke sighed but handed Michael the first piece anyway before taking his own.

Stuffing the pie into his mouth, he realised it was still too warm to eat. It burned his tongue, and tears stung behind his eyes as he tried his best to quickly chew and swallow. Liz shook her head, snickering, and at Luke's side, Michael laughed at him without so much as trying to hide it.

He had to gulp down half a glass of water before he was able to speak again. "Wasn't the pie meant for dessert—you know, Saturday dinner?"

Liz's gaze flicked towards Michael for just a split second but Luke saw it anyway. "I thought I'd make an exception," she said, lips curled into a small smile.

Luke knew his mother's motives but he wasn't complaining. "Thanks, mom!"

"No problem," she said, turning to address Michael, "Hey, why don't you join us next time? I always cook extra on Saturdays."

Michael tore his gaze away from the warm delicacy in his hands to look at Liz. "Really?" His eyes were big, filled with something that looked like eagerness and fear. "I er—that's very kind but I—I wouldn't want to interrupt your family moment," he stammered.

"He means yes," Luke said, smiling at his mother and ignoring the incredulous look Michael was giving him.

Liz's eyes glittered. "Good! That's settled then," she said excitedly. "Enjoy your pie!" And with that, she closed the door behind her.

Michael smacked Luke on the arm. "What was that about?" he hissed, "I'm never going to convince my aunt to let me go to a _family dinner_ , she'll barely let me go to school!" He picked up his fork and took a bite of pie, chewing it angrily. He didn't care if it was still too hot.

"It will be fine, just tell her we're going to work on a History project, she can even check with mom if she likes." Luke shrugged and looked at the merboy, jutting his bottom lip outwards. "It's just my mom's way of saying sorry for what happened earlier. Could you do this for her? Please?" he added, blinking innocently.

Rolling his eyes, Michael accepted defeat. "Fine—but just because your mom's one hell of a cook," he said, stuffing more pie in his face.


	6. Tiptoes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is here, hooray! Thanks for the support, guys, I appreciate it more than you know (:  
> Enjoy chapter six! x

The sun was doing its best today and shimmering heat radiated off the sand and beat against Luke's skin. After going to church this morning—which made Luke wonder if there was place in heaven for mermaids, too—, Jack had proposed a beach day today because the weather was perfect. Luke had obliged happily, he missed going out with his brothers; since Ben had gone to college and was home only during weekends, there weren't many opportunities for the three of them to go out together.

They made their way to a spot close to the dunes and out of the wind, yet not too far from the water. Jack set up camp by planting a beach umbrella in the sand, pushing it in as far as he could, while Ben already flopped down onto his towel. Jack mumbled something about how it couldn't hurt if Ben got off his lazy ass once in a while but Ben remained unfazed.

Luke put down the cooler in the beach umbrella cast shadow and spread out his own towel. He kicked off his flip flops and sat down cross-legged, reaching for the sunscreen. Covering his arms with the summery smelling liquid, he watched as Jack bound his curls in a tiny ponytail and positioned himself on Luke's other side. “Fuck, it's a nice day," Jack said, squinting at the light reflecting off the waves.

“Hmhm," Luke mumbled, pushing his sunglasses further up his nose. On his right side, Ben let out a satisfied grunt that made Luke chuckle. “I'm glad you're with us, Ben," he snorted, shaking his head.

Ben's lips curled into a smile. “Me too," he said, closing his eyes.

Jack's eyes rolled so far back into his head Luke thought he might be having a stroke. “Fine, fine, I'm glad to be here too," Jack murmured, pretending to be annoyed. Only seconds later, a grin appeared on his face and he snatched the sun lotion from Luke's hands, put one of his fingers to his lips and tiptoed towards Ben, making sure he didn't block his sun.

As soon he reached Ben's towel, Jack raised his arms dramatically and gave the tube of sun screen a firm squeeze. Ben's eyes opened instantly and he let out a yelp as the cold liquid made its way over his stomach and dribbled down his sides.

Luke pressed his lips together and shook his head as Ben swatted at Jack's arms angrily and Jack skillfully avoided the attack, running around Ben's towel and hiding behind his younger brother's back. “Protect me from the Ben man!" he yelled into Luke's neck. Luke shoved him away with one hand and took the sunscreen from Jack with his other. “I'm not going to be your next victim," he clarified, nodding his head towards Ben who was trying his best to distribute the enormous amount of lotion over his entire body.

“I wouldn't even think of it," Jack said.

Luke felt his eyebrows rise. “Is that so?"

Jack's head bobbed up and down. “Hmhm." He leaned in closer. "You're my favorite brother," he whispered, smiling at Luke fondly, a sparkle dancing in his eyes.

“I heard that!" Ben roared, making Jack roll his eyes once again. “There's no reason to get jealous, you already got a special treatment today," Jack called back.

Ben huffed at that and gave up on project sun screen. “Let's go swimming," he offered. Before he had even finished his sentence, his two little brothers were already trying to beat each other to the water.

Luke had no idea how, but Ben managed to catch up to both of them and ended up in the water first, sending buckets of water over his little brothers' heads as soon as they reached the sea, too. It was the start of a water fight that lasted until Ben and Luke admitted Jack had won—not that they had a choice as Jack had both their heads in a death grip and threatened to drown them if they didn't comply.

Still sputtering and coughing from nearly dying an extremely salty death, Luke floated around on his back for a bit. Trusting his brothers to keep an eye on him—he wouldn't want to end up drifting too far from shore—, he closed his eyes against the sunlight and enjoyed the feeling of the waves beneath him, gently pushing into the muscles in his back.

He marveled at the idea of the ocean. He was right at the edge of something so big and vast and unexplored... It was almost like the sea was teasing him, tempting him with small gestures and making him believe it wasn't as dangerous as he was led to believe. Luke knew better. The water here might be warm and the waves relatively small, but out there was the ocean; that was something else entirely. At places, the water was deeper than he could imagine, there were sea creatures he'd never even heard of, there were places that no light ever touched, and somewhere out there... were mermaids.

Even though he'd promised himself to not think about Michael today, he couldn't help being aware of the him and his kind. Luke imagined that somewhere out there, there were whole underwater cities swarming with merfolk going about their daily lives: waving blankets of sea weed, gathering shells for decoration and swimming side by side with dolphins and sharks.

He wondered if Michael used to live in a place like that or if he had lived on land his whole life, and if he didn't have any family here, why didn't he just go live in the ocean with the other mermaids? Was he cast out, had he been sent on a mission? _I just love light so much_ , Michael had said. What was that supposed to mean?

Luke sighed and cleared his mind, focusing on the sound of water instead.

~

Even though Michael wasn't nearly always at school, Luke got used to carrying a towel around in his backpack and he had several more in his locker—just in case.

They were having lunch in the cafeteria when it went wrong. Luke was telling them about his day at the beach and how he'd had a blast hanging out with his brothers.

While Calum was looking at him with an empathetic smile—Calum knew how much Luke missed Ben—, Michael's face seemed to grow dangerously blank and Luke was starting to wonder if Michael'd had brothers before he became merman. He was just about to change the subject, but Michael was already getting up, shoving his chair back and accidentally hitting a girl carrying a tray with food and drinks.

He saw it happen like it was in slow motion; a glass of milk toppling over, the contents spilling out and rolling over the edge of the tray to land in Michael's neck.

Michael froze for a split second before jumping up and starting to run. Quickly, Luke grabbed his bag and went off after Michael who was headed towards the toilets, leaving Calum behind without a clue.

Luke caught up on Michael easily—maybe because Michael claimed to not do any sports besides FIFA—and grabbed him by the sleeve, "This way!"

Michael looked at him, bewilderment and panic in his eyes. Luke's legs kept moving and he dragged Michael with him in another direction. "Trust me."

The bathrooms might have been the first hide out you'd think of but it definitely wasn't the best. The stalls were narrow and the thin doors didn't even reach the floor, leaving a gap of at least twenty centimeters; not ideal if you were trying to hide a tail.

Making his way through the crowds, sHoving people out of his way, Luke suddenly felt nails digging into his skin. Turning his head to look at Michael; he was clenching his jaw, his face white as a sheet.

Luke remembered something Michael had said about putting the transformation off. _I can try to put off the transformation for a couple of seconds but it takes a lot of energy and it hurts_. Michael should've turned already, he must be in horrible pain trying to keep it together. "Almost there," he said, trying to reassure Michael.

He took a sudden left and opened the first door on the right side of the small and empty corridor. They had barely made it inside when Michael grew a tail. To his own surprise, Luke caught him, his arms finding their way around Michael's chest. As he dragged the merman further into the room and carefully laid him on the floor, he could feel Michael's heart thumping rapidly inside his chest.

"Relax, no one ever comes here," Luke said, reaching for the towel in his bag and tossing it so it landed on Michael's stomach.

Michael didn't look convinced so Luke looked around the room, searching for anything helpful. His eyes found an unused broom in the corner. Perfect.

The door opened to the outside so all he had to do was fasten the broom behind the doorknob diagonally so it blocked the door if anyone tried to open it from the other side.

"Where are we anyway?" Michael asked, his voice shaky.

Luke flicked on the lights in response. Because the classroom was somewhere in the middle of the building, there were no windows. The walls were an ugly grey and the carpet was faded black, like in most rooms in this part of the school—the only difference was the way the ceiling boards were placed in curvy patterns. An old, dark piano stood against the far wall. There were some guitars and other instruments laying around as well, and a massive bookcase filled with sheet music covered another wall.

"Music room," Luke chimed. He sat down next to Michael and crossed his legs, looking around the room fondly.

"Holy crap," Michael whispered, "I've been at this school for years and I never even knew this existed."

A chuckle left Luke's lips. "Maybe if you actually _went_ to school like a normal person does..." he said, giving Michael a small wink.

Michael pretended to scowl but a smile pulled his lips upwards. He started to dry himself off, dabbing the back of his neck with the towel repeatedly.

As soon as Luke's gaze fell on the shimmering tail, he couldn't tear his eyes away from it anymore—fortunately, he didn't have to look to know that Michael was rolling his eyes. "What? I haven't seen it in ages," Luke defended himself. After a small pause he asked, "Can I touch it?"

"Yeah, sure." Michael shrugged.

Carefully, Luke brought his hand down. Just as his fingers were about to touch the scales, Michael flicked his tail and laughed at the yelp that squeezed itself from Luke's lungs.

"It's not funny," Luke said, devaluing his own words by laughing as he said them. Michael grinned at him.

Luke's fingers carefully pressed down and he was surprised by how warm and soft the tail was. The scales itself felt cool but a certain warmth seemed to radiate from underneath. It was dry and smooth at the surface but if you moved your hand in the opposite direction, the scales were sharp enough to cut flesh, Luke found out.

"I thought it'd be more slimy," he confessed. He looked up at Michael. The merman didn't look too good; Luke hadn't noticed because Michael had been smiling before. His skin was pale, and red blotches spread over his chest, his lips were pursed and the muscles in his neck were strained. Luke just hoped Michael wasn't going to cry, he didn't know if he could handle that.

Keeping quiet, he traced delicate patterns on the tail's surface and marveled silently at the deep colour that differed just slightly on every scale. The tiny fins on the side were darker than the rest, as were the back fin and the fin at the end. He wondered if all mermaid tails were this beautiful.

"Are you okay?" he asked after a while.

"Yeah," Michael said, but his voice broke. He cleared his throat. "Just a bit tired, is all." He'd stopped drying himself off, it was as if he was waiting until he'd regained the energy to turn back.

Luke frowned and reached inside his backpack. "Here," he said, handing Michael a home baked chocolate chip cookie.

Michael took it gratefully and nibbled on it for a bit. "Thanks for bringing me here," he said finally, his face softening.

"It's no problem." Luke shrugged. "I figured the toilets weren't ideal."

"They're really not," Michael snickered, scrunching his nose, "and they smell."

It was true, they _did_ smell terribly. Luke laughed. Then he looked around the room and exhaled slowly. "It's been a few weeks since I've been here." He got to his feet, picked up a guitar and sat back down. Balancing the instrument on his thigh, he plucked at the strings and winced at how off key the sound was. He started to tune it, slowly turning the knobs and listening for the right tone.

Michael propped himself up on his elbow. "You play?" It wasn't really a question.

Luke shrugged, "Calum and I used to come here to play a lot. Lately he's been kind of busy with football, though." He hated the way his voice sounded miserable without his permission. He knew Michael's next question before it was asked. "And yes, I sing, too, a little bit."

Michael nodded. "Cool. What music do you usually play?"

"I listen to a lot of bands like Green Day—yes I noticed your shirt that day in the park, All Time Low, Blink 182, Skillet, Good Charlotte... I usually end up playing more ballad-like songs, though. They go along with my voice better."

Turning to his side, Michael looked at him with big eyes. "Play something for me?"

Luke's fingers slipped from the guitar's neck and he narrowed his eyes at the other boy. "All right," he decided after a moment of silence. He laughed as Michael's eyes instantly lit up. "It's been a while, though," he warned, doing the last bit of tuning.

He thought a moment about what songs he could play with these notes. He looked up to find Michael staring at him with his lips slightly parted. "Okay, I think I've got a song," he said. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before he started singing. " _A drop in the ocean, a change in the weather_..."

Michael recognised the song within the first second and listened silently until the last.

It was nice to have someone new to play to, Luke found that he didn't mind playing for Michael at all. Certain people made him feel nervous if he had to play for them, they made too many facial expressions that distracted him or they simply had the wrong feeling about them. Michael wasn't one of those people; he was attentive and got lost in the music just like Luke did. Luke had no doubt Michael played as well.

By the time the song was done, Michael's cheeks had regained their usual pink shade. He blinked a few times and shook his head. "That was amazing," he said, gaping at Luke.

Luke smiled. "Thanks," he muttered. He played some more random melodies while Michael busied himself with drying. Luke was painfully aware of the fact that Michael would be naked once he transformed back to human form.

"I'll get you some pants," he said, standing up and putting the guitar on the floor, "I always have a spare set of clothes in my locker."

Michael rolled his eyes. "But you're so _skinny_ ," he whined.

"You'll be fine," Luke laughed. He put the broom aside and carefully closed the door behind him. When he arrived at his locker, he rested his forehead against the cold metal. It wasn't like he hadn't seen Michael naked before, but now that they knew each other it seemed ... more intimate?

He groaned and opened his locker, shoving his books aside to find the clothes he was looking for. Even though Michael only ripped his jeans when he transformed, Luke took the shirt with him as well, because milk stains are the worst and he didn't want Michael unneccessarily walking around with them.

Slowly, he jogged up to the music room and knocked before entering. Michael was back to human form, the towel wrapped around his waist. Luke couldn't help but notice that the guitar had changed location from where he left it.

He handed the merman his clothes and covered his own eyes with his hands as Michael turned his back. Still, he couldn't resist parting his fingers slightly to steal a glance at the merman's pale cheeks. They looked nice.

"No peeking!" Michael roared, making Luke jump. Laughing, Michael put on a pair of pants and struggled to wriggle himself into Luke's jeans. "Fuck, these are even tighter than the other pair," he complained.

Luke took that as a cue to open his eyes and snickered at the uncomfortable expression on Michael's face. "They're skinnies, sorry."

Grumbling, Michael folded the towel and handed it to Luke. "Let's just go to class."

They were both late for Science and received a questioning stare from Calum and two hours of detention from Mr. Harrison. Luke had a feeling he'd be spending those two hours by himself but to his surprise, Michael walked into the detention classroom only five minutes after Luke sat down behind one of the desks. He flopped down on the seat next to Luke's and rested his feet on the table.

"How nice of you to come," Luke said, leaning in slightly.

Michael shrugged. "I figured since it was my fault we were late, the least I could do was show up."

Instead of replying, Luke just smiled down at the papers on his desk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, I'm grateful for every single one of you.  
> As always: feedback makes me a better writer!
> 
> Come talk to me on [my tumblr](http://cliffordiste.tumblr.com/) if you want x


	7. Bare pt. I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this took ages but as I was writing, the chapter just kept getting longer and longer so I decided to cut it up into two pieces to ease the wait. Part two will be up soon but I hope you'll love the first part, too!
> 
> Lots of love, Eve.

"For tomorrow, I want you to finish the exercises on page twenty five," Ms. Snyder mumbled into her scarf.

Luke groaned, he'd been too busy talking to Calum and doodling on his desk to do anything during the past hour; he could've easily gotten most of the work done. Sometimes he wished he was as motivated for English as he was for Math. Maybe if Ms. Snyder's voice wasn't so incredibly monotone and inaudible, things would be easier.

"Do _what_  for tomorrow?" Michael whispered from behind.

"Everything on page twenty five," Calum said, a sigh following the words.

Grumbling, Michael gathered his stuff and put his books in his bag. "Whatever, if she wants me to do anything, she should talk louder so I can actually hear her," he said as he stood up and swung his bag over his shoulder. "See you later, Calum!"

Luke waved at Calum and swiftly grabbed his notebook, following Michael who was already walking out of the classroom with big strides. Why was Michael always in such a hurry?

Next period was History, the only class Calum didn't take with them; which meant that Luke could shower Michael with the questions he'd been holding back while Calum was around. Michael had taken to sitting with them during lunch and classes—something Luke liked a lot—but sometimes Luke was so close to blurting out stuff that wasn't meant for Calum's ears. He'd never had to watch himself around Calum before, it was so easy to forget he now had a secret to keep.

Catching up with Michael, Luke fell into step with him. "Hey, so, I had a thought," he started, panting slightly from the sprint he'd taken to reach Michael.

"Did you, now?" Michael asked, eyebrows barely even raising.

Luke scowled at him for his disinterest but continued talking anyway. "I was wondering, if you go swimming underwater for long, how do you get air?" he asked, hugging his notebook to his chest. Taking a quick glance around, he leaned in and bowed his head somewhat. "Do you have gills?" he asked the side of Michael's neck. Michael's Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he chuckled.

"No, I don't have gills," he said, shaking his head, eyes glittering with amusement. "I get most oxygen through my skin when I'm under water. You know, humans use their skin for breathing more than you'd think. Have you heard those stories of people who cover themselves in paint for fun and end up in hospital?" he asked, looking down at Luke, who stared at him with wide eyes and nodded. "That's because the paint clogs the pores. Of course, the lungs are more important but still, the skin plays an important part. Our—the merfolk, that is— skin has adapted and is able to absorb larger amounts of oxygen, allowing us to stay underwater forever."

"That's cool."

Michael shrugged. "Yeah, well, I actually prefer using my lungs. It makes me feel more alive. Merfolk barely ever go above the surface, they don't like it; it's too bright and and noisy."

"But you _live_ on land," Luke said, knitting his eyebrows together.

"I'm part human," Michael argued. There was an edge to his voice that stopped more words from leaving Luke's mouth.

~

"So, Luke, you do the numbers, you're good at Maths; make a fancy graphic or something," Calum said, writing down Luke's name and tasks. Then he moved on to write his own name on the next line. "I'll write the introduction and conclusion because I'm good at talking shit and still sounding like I'm making sense."

Luke hummed in agreement. "You are."

"Shut up," Calum laughed, smacking Luke on the arm gently. Then he looked up at the new addition to their group; the turquoise haired boy was sitting on the far end of the table, staring out of the window. "What would you like to contribute, Michael?" Calum asked, not unfriendly.

They were working on the bird watching report in class—Luke had suggested that instead of simply copying everything, Michael should join their group and make himself useful instead. Calum had lifted his eyebrows at that but agreed; the more people in their group, the smaller the workload for each person. Or at least, that's what it should've been like. Up until this point, Michael hadn't really been any help and Calum had no idea what the kid was good at. The fact that Michael didn't talk much, didn't help either.

Michael turned his head to look at Calum and shrugged.

"We still need the results, discussion and summary," Calum offered, "would you mind doing the latter two?"

"All right." Michael nodded and went back to staring outside.

Calum sighed. "Okay, Michael does the discussion and the summary," he mumbled, his hand moving over the paper swiftly to write it down. "Luke, if you do the results as well I can do the mark up. Now, if you two think you can manage without me, I'm going for a pee." He pushed himself off his chair and made his way to the door.

Luke silently studied Michael's face; his lips were pink and plump and wet from when he licked them, his skin pale but glowing in the late morning sun and his eyes were bright and far, far away. When Michael turned his head, Luke sat up straight and met Michael's gaze. "You don't talk much when Calum's around, do you?"

"I don't have much to say," Michael offered, and shrugged.

Shaking his head, Luke laughed. "You barely ever shut up when we're alone," he said, his expression becoming concerned. "Is it Calum? Don't you like him?"

"No, it's—" Michael sighed. "He's fine, I just—I don't know," he said. Another nonchalant shrug shook his shoulders briefly.

Luke had nothing useful to say to that so he just nodded and averted his gaze, he didn't want to push. "So, what do you do if it rains on a school day?" he asked eventually.

Michael's lips twitched. "I just don't go."

"All right," Luke said, playing around with the pencil in his hands, leaving meaningless patterns of charcoal on his desk. "But what if you have an important test that day, or if it rains for several days in a row?"

"Answer remains the same," Michael said, smiling smugly.

Taking his bottom lip between his teeth, Luke chewed softly on the flesh. "Is that why you're at school more often lately—because the weather is better?"

Michael cocked his head to the side and gave him a funny look. "Yeah," he murmured, narrowing his eyes, "yeah, it must be."

It rained the next day and Michael was nowhere to be found. On request, Luke texted him the homework even though he didn't think Michael actually did any homework. It was funny how easily Luke had adapted to Michael's presence at school and he felt like something was missing now that he wasn't there.

On the other hand, it was nice to not have to watch his mouth around Calum all the time. He'd always been careless around Calum, words flooding his mouth before his brain caught up, and he'd missed that, too.

The rest of the week passed quickly as Luke tried to balance sitting next to Calum and sitting next to Michael; before Luke knew it, it was Friday again. "Family dinner tomorrow, don't forget!" he called to Michael before they parted ways after school.

At his side, Calum whistled. "Family dinner already?"

"I had no choice, my mom invited him," Luke said, shrugging his shoulders.

"It was months before _I_  was invited," Calum complained, his bottom lip jutted out.

Luke smirked. "That's because _you_  spent all your time talking to Molly instead of my mom."

A scowl furrowed Calum's brows. "I can't help it that I have more in common with your dog than with your mother!"

"I can't argue with that," Luke admitted, "takes naps on the rug, steals food from the kitchen cupboards, in constant need of attention, likes to lick my face, hates baths..." he said, counting off the similarities on his fingers.

Calum punched him in the shoulder playfully. "Not true, I love baths! I have an extensive collection of bath bombs to prove it," he said, sniffing indignantly and pretending not to hear Luke snickering.

 ~

Michael arrived plenty on time so they went upstairs to play some Rocket League until dinner was ready; it was one of the many games Michael had introduced him to, it was like FIFA except way more creative and ridiculous.

When Liz called for them to come eat, Luke jumped up from his bed but Michael lingered, rubbing the sheets between his fingers.

Luke's face softened and he crouched in front on the merman. "It will be fine, they're much nicer than I am, I promise," he said, showing off the dimple in his right cheek.

Michael met his gaze, lips parted, and seemed to search for something in Luke's eyes. He found whatever it was he was looking for, pressed his lips together and nodded.

"All right," Luke said, touching Michael's knee briefly, "let's go."

When they entered the dining room, their noses had already gotten acquainted with the smell of tomato and basil. Bowls were placed neatly on the table in front of each chair, accompanied by a silver spoon each that was part of the set Luke's parents had gotten on their wedding day—the other cutlery was placed further to the middle of the table as it was not needed just yet—.

Luke's father, Andy, was sat at the head of the table, Liz sitting at his left hand. Luke sat down opposite his mother and motioned for Michael to sit down next to him. A moment later, Jack came rushing in and flopped himself down on the chair opposite Michael, smiling smugly. He was followed by Ben who shuffled to the other end of the table and took place in the only empty seat left.

"Michael, right?" Luke's father asked. When Michael nodded, he smiled and said, "I'm Andy, Luke's dad. We're happy to have you with us tonight."

Michael's cheeks tinted slightly. "Thanks for inviting me."

From the other side of the table, Jack let out an exaggerated sigh. "Can we just begin already? I've been fasting the entire afternoon, I'm starving!"

Ben raised an eyebrow. "I saw you eat pizza no more than one hour ag—"

"Who cares? I'm hungry."

"All right, then," Liz said, folding her hands on the table, "let's say grace before Jack turns into a monster and devours us all."

In unison, everyone folded their hands, their heads bowing slightly.

Usually, Luke closed his eyes but he couldn't help looking at Michael, who had his hands clasped together but looked a bit lost. Meeting his gaze, Luke winked at him before shutting his eyes and listening to his father's prayer.

"—amen."

The word was barely out or Jack's hand was reaching for the freshly baked French bread with home made herb butter. A few 'have a nice meal's were exchanged and Luke brought his attention to the soup in front of him. It was red; he just hoped Michael liked tomato soup, he'd forgotten to ask if there was anything he didn't eat.

Glancing sideways, he saw Michael already spooning his soup into his mouth. Wasted worry, then.

"So, how's school, Michael?" Luke's father asked, giving him a kind glance.

Michael swallowed, put his spoon down and cleared his throat. "Yeah, fine," he said, his fingers fidgeting in his lap, "I miss a lot of classes but I try to keep up with the work; I'd really like to pass this year. Sometimes it's hard but I manage."

Liz was looking at Michael intently, worried lines decorating her face, but Michael didn't seem to notice. Luke wanted tell her to stop fussing about Michael—tell her that Michael wasn't that fragile and that he wasn't going to break easily— but he kept quiet.

"School's not all," Ben offered.

Michael opened his mouth to say something but Luke's immediate senior brother beat him to it. "As if you'd know," Jack muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes and earning himself a scowling look from Ben.

"Boys!" Liz said sternly, causing both Ben and Jack to deflate and focus on eating their soup instead. She knew her sons well enough to know which arguments would end badly and made sure it didn't come that far. Ben was only home during the weekends, and everyone liked to keep the mood warm and welcoming when he was—usually.

"Do you have any siblings, Michael?" Liz asked.

"No, i—it's just me and my aunt." Michael's hand was trembling slightly, his knuckles turning white as his fingers tightened around his spoon.

Luke's mother nodded and blushed a little. "Ah yes, sorry," she said, "I remember you told me before."

"That's all right," Michael said quietly, eyes cast downwards.

Luke felt a pang of annoyance towards his parents for starting off with the exact two subjects Michael really didn't like to talk about; school and family. Maybe he should've warned them beforehand.

He heard a soft crackle and to his surprise, a thin layer of white crystals gathered where Michael's spoon touched the red liquid. The frost spread out over the surface and Luke was grateful that the bowls were deep.

He touched Michael's hand underneath the table, making Michael look at him. Luke widened his eyes and he flicked his gaze towards the bowl.

A look of horror crossed Michael's face before it became carefully blank and his fingers started to curl, the red substance becoming liquid once more. He looked around nervously but no one else seemed to have noticed.

Ben peeked at Michael over his spoon. "So," he said as if on cue, "I heard you play League?"

Michael instantly perked up, his back straightening and his gaze meeting Ben's. "I do! I'm assuming you do, too?"

"Hmhm, Summoner's Rift, I take it?"

"Usually, yeah," Michael said, a smile curling his lips. "When I don't have much time, I prefer to play Twisted Treeline, though."

The knot in Luke's stomach dissolved and he made a mental note to kiss his eldest brother later on.

Ben slurped the soup from his spoon. "What lane do you play?"

" _AD carry_ and _top_."

 _Attack damage carrier_ , Luke knew, meaning something similar to a tankie; taking the worst of the damage so the others could focus on doing damage to the opposition. It could be an ungrateful position so he could imagine Michael liked to switch it up with top.

He'd listened to Ben talk about League of Legends often and had even watched a few matches, but there was always so much happening on the screen his brain would overload with visual information, and after ten minutes and he'd had to go and do something else.

Ben nodded approvingly. "I'm mostly _jungler_ , I like to walk around and sneak up on people."

"I prefer to do that in real life." Michael's eyes glittered, and he sucked his lips into his mouth to shut himself up.

Ben's laughter filled the kitchen. "You sound like someone who'd watch Imaqtpie's streams."

"I do!" Michael said, his smile growing, "I'm part of the Big Dick Club, too. I love his cats." At this point, he had completely abandoned any thought of eating, excitedly chatting away about League streamers and strategies.

Laughing into his fist, Luke looked up at his parents. He himself understood only half of what they were talking about, but Andy and Liz looked completely lost and a tad concerned, their eyes lined with frowns.

After a few minutes, Luke nudged Michael's arm, making him look at him. "Your soup's getting cold," he said, nodding to the bowl that was still as full as it was five minutes ago.

Michael blushed and murmured and apology as gentle amusement spread over Liz's face, replacing her frown.

"Well," Ben said, looking pleased, "at least you don't play Call of Duty."

Jack scowled at his older brother. "COD is pretty fun multiplayer," he protested.

They argued their way through the first course until Liz told them off. A timer rang and Ben gathered the bowls to put them in the sink while his mother took care of the next dish.

Andy went to get plates, leaving Luke and Michael at the table with Jack.

"Don't," Luke said abruptly.

Jack frowned. "I didn't even say anything!"

"No, but you were about to."

 Jack pouted but shut up anyway.

Not much later, the table was set for the main course and Liz appeared with oven gloves on her hands, carrying an oven dish with a delicious, steaming lasagna on it. Michael narrowed his eyes at Luke. "How did you know?"

Luke knitted his eyebrows together. "Know what?"

Instead of replying, Michael's eyes searched every inch of Luke's face. Finally, he shrugged and said, "nothing," before turning away and watching Liz cut up the lasagna in six even pieces.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! Please let me know what you think.  
> Shout out to my sister for helping me with League specifics.
> 
> Also come talk to me about 5sos and mermaids on [my tumblr](http://cliffordiste.tumblr.com/) (:


	8. Bare pt. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is part two! I told you I'd upload it soon (:  
> Please enjoy the read and if you can please let me know if there's anything I can do to improve!

"So, what made you become friends after all these years?" Liz asked, eyeing them curiously from behind her fork.

Luke swallowed his food, waiting for Michael to protest and say they weren't, but Michael kept quiet, chewing his lasagne. "I'd love to tell you but Michael would probably kill me if I did," he said, making sure he sounded like he was joking—because he was, right?

Andy and Jack were visibly disappointed, Liz hid it better. Ben didn't seem to mind. "We're just your family, you don't need to tell us anything," Jack said. It was the perfect response, the words meaning one thing but the intonation suggesting the exact opposite.

"Fine," Luke sighed. He could see Michael tense in the corner of his eye. "He was just having a rough time and I felt obliged to help him out," he said. He hadn't even lied. He saw Michael slump back into his chair. "Can we drop it now?" He eyed his family—especially Jack—with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Of course, sweetie," Liz said.

"So he's gay too?" Jack said at the same time.

Michael choked on his lasagne and started coughing violently in an attempt to free his respiratory, doubling over to the side and covering his mouth with his hands.

Luke felt his cheeks burn, whether it was out of embarrassment or anger, he did not know. He'd hadn't told Michael yet.

Liz pursed her lips. "Jack!"

"You are such a fucking asshole sometimes," Ben said, rolling his eyes at Jack. He went to slap him on the arm but his sleeve caught on his glass in the process and knocked it over. "Shit," he muttered under his breath.

Luke's heart stopped as the water spread over the table like wildfire, reaching Michael before he could do so much as blink. Michael had been too busy choking to notice the water until a considerable amount landed in his lap, instantly soaking his jeans. With eyes wide, he jumped up, knocking his chair over, and ran up the stairs to Luke's room, slamming the door shut behind him.

A moment of stunned silence followed.

"Are you happy now?" Luke grumbled, grinding his teeth. "Thanks a lot," he said, scowling at Jack. He stood up and made his way upstairs to check up on Michael. The arguing that came from downstairs was cut off as soon as he closed the door to his bedroom behind him.

He was met by an annoyed groan from Michael who lay on his stomach on the carpet, tail and all.

Michael coughed a few more times and swallowed, wiping the tears from his eyes. He tried in vain to dry himself off with his shirt. "Come over for dinner, he said. It'll be fun, he said," Michael mimicked Luke's voice.

"How was I supposed to know this would happen?" Luke said angrily, "it's not my fault you're half fish," he snapped, leaning against the door with his arms crossed.

The merman sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry," he said, rolling himself onto his back. He tried to push himself up against the wall so he could face Luke. "It was just so close..."

"I know, sorry," Luke breathed, pinching the bridge of his nose and letting his shoulders sag. It wasn't fair of him to direct his anger at Michael when he wasn't the one he was annoyed with. "Fortunately we can just pretend you were upset about the sensitive subject," he snorted.

Rumbling laughter rose up from Michael's throat, making Luke crack up too. "It's funny because I absolutely don't give a shit," Michael said, wiping at his eyes.

"You don't?"

Michael shrugged, catching his breath. "Nah. You love who you love, you know?" He cocked his head to the side, looking at Luke curiously, causing a nervous feeling in Luke's gut.

"Exactly," Luke agreed, trying his best to keep his gaze away from Michael's plump, slightly parted lips. "To be honest, I'm not even sure I'm gay anymore. I just thought I was when I liked this guy but I think I could literally fall in love with anyone at this point."  _Or anything_ , he added in his mind.

Michael nodded. "I get that."

Luke felt like he should say something but it seemed to take him years to find the right words. After a brief silence, he cleared his throat awkwardly. "I just hope you, uhm, I hope you don't think I didn't tell you because I didn't think you'd accept it. It wasn't—I just thought that it didn't really matter," he stammered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"That's all right," Michael said.

Luke blinked. "It is?"

"Of course," Michael said matter-of-factly, but his face wasn't unkind. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a tail to get rid of."

"Yeah, go ahead," Luke said, relief washing over him. A small smile played on his lips as he watched Michael's fingers moving in patterns that he was now starting to recognise. It was weird, he hadn't even realised he was getting used to all this mermaid stuff.

A knock on the door made them jump, neither had heard the footsteps coming up the stairs. "Luke, is everything okay?" It was Liz. "Jack says he's sorry."

"Hurry up!" Luke hissed impatiently at Michael.

The merman shook his head. "I'll be naked when I transform," he reminded him, "do you really want your mum to find me in your room without clothes on? I don't want her to see me in my birthday suit."

Luke couldn't help but notice that Michael didn't mention _him_.

Liz knocked again, louder this time. "Are you all right in there?"

"You have to cover me up and get your mom to leave before she sees anything," Michael demanded in a hushed voice.

Luke let out an exasperated sigh before walking over, slinging his arms around Michael's torso and dragging him to the bed. The movements were starting to feel familiar. "Why am I always carrying you places?" he complained as he positioned Michael on the bed and covered his tail with blankets.

"Luke, talk to me. I know you're in there... !"

"No, mom, wait—" He never got to finish that sentence as the doorknob was being turned and suddenly there was a hand in his hair, pulling his face down. Michael hastily crashed their mouths together just as Liz stormed in.

Luke let out a yelp and pried himself loose from Michael. "Mom!" he squeaked. Michael was grinning.

Liz's gaze found Michael's bare torso and flushed cheeks that matched Luke's. "Oh," she said, "you could've just said you were otherwise occupied. I thought you were being murdered in here."

The blush on Luke's cheeks spread all the way to his ears and neck, and he wished the universe would delete itself.

"Well, this is awkward," Michael piped up from behind him. Luke spun around on his heels and gave him a furious look; it was all he could do to not bare his teeth and growl at him. Michael wasn't fazed at all and simply gave him an innocent smile, keeping up a bashful appearance.

"I'll just ehm, I'll just leave you boys to it then," Liz said, her lips twitching. She turned to leave the room, trying to hide her smile but as soon as the door was closed, both boys could hear soft giggling coming from the hall.

Luke's head was pounding, blood surging through his veins at top speed.

"Why do your ways out of unwanted fishness always involve getting people to think we're snogging?" he demanded, his voice highpitched. His cheeks were burning and his lips prickled with lingering sensation.

Michael shrugged. "It's simple, people get embarrassed and they don't ask any questions," he said casually, blinking innocently at Luke. "What?"

Luke huffed. He didn't know what to make of this.

"It worked, didn't it?" Michael said, raising his eyebrows.

"It did, yes: they _do_ get embarrassed, and now I'm in trouble for saving your ass. Again." A desperate feeling forced itself upwards into Luke's throat. "She'll never believe me when I say it was just a one time thing—and I am _not_  pretending to be your boyfriend for the next couple of weeks," Luke said, pressing his lips together. "Why am I always the one taking the bullet for you?" He knew the answer already but he wasn't ready to admit it.

"Hey," Michael said, "I can't be _that_  bad!" He mocked offense but something dark flickered in his gaze. "You could've chosen to just keep ignoring me for the rest of your life but nope, you just had to get involved."

"I did not choose any of this! It was _you_  that bullied me into becoming your friend in the first place, or don't you remember?" Even as he said them, the words stung. He didn't know why he was being such an asshole.

Michael's face fell; suddenly the attitude was gone and all that was left were soft edges and big eyes. He swallowed. "Of course I remember; I also remember me telling you that I didn't do friends, or don't _you_ remember?"

Then he transformed back to human.

"I said that because I was trying to warn you, not because I wanted to keep you away." His voice quivered.

At a loss for words, Luke just stood there as Michael got dressed and packed his stuff. He wanted to apologise, say _something_ , but no words would come out. His mind was clouded and all he could hear was his heart beating rapidly inside his chest.

After tying his boots, Michael got up and walked to the door. Luke tried to catch his arm but Michael shook it off. "Look, I've always made it clear to you that I'm a dick. If you think of me as anything other than that, it's your own fault," he said flatly.

"Michael—" Luke started; but Michael was already gone, disappearing footsteps descending the stairs. He hadn't known what he would've said if Michael had stayed anyway.

He let out a frustrated groan and let himself fall backwards onto his bed, staring at the ceiling. He felt like he should go downstairs—his family would've seen Michael leave—but he didn't want to. Instead, he rolled onto his stomach and spread his arms and legs, burying his face into his pillow. He didn't want to do anything.

Yes, he thought Michael was an asshole, but whether he liked it or not, they had become friends. Luke cared for him but it was so much more complicated than it was with Calum, it felt like he always had to be on his tiptoes when he was around Michael. He just wanted things to be simple.

His brothers were the first to check up on him, Jack continuously apologising until Luke told him to shut up. They jumped up on the bed and sandwiched him in a tight hug, all three of them too comfy—well, Luke's air supply was cut off by Ben's elbow and Jack couldn't feel his left arm anymore, but neither wanted to let go of the others—to get up.

Not much later, their parents came in, too, Liz carrying a tray with several small plates, and Andy a handful of spoons. "I figured we might as well eat desert here," Liz said, handing out the saucers.

At the sight of the creamy vanilla ice cream covered in molten chocolate, Luke felt his mood brighten. He pried himself loose from his brothers' grip and eagerly took one of the plates.

With Andy sitting in the desk chair and Liz making herself comfortable on the end of the bed, they ate desert in Luke's room. His family was crazy, and he loved them for it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! Thanks for the sweet feedback, it always makes my day.  
> I promise you I'm not neglecting this fic, I'm working hard on it but recently I've been working a lot on future chapters instead so oops. I'll do my best to finish the earlier ones first, though x


	9. Paradise

Wether he wanted to admit it or not, Luke had been sulking; he only came out of his room for meals and even then his stomach would be so twisted up into knots he could barely swallow it down. The way his family would look at him with gentle pity made Luke's skin tingle with frustration, but he supposed they couldn't help it—there was no doubt that they'd seen Michael leave angrily. He'd stayed home when his family went to church, Ben and Jack both offered to stay with him but Luke declined, he just wanted to be alone, away from the stares and people treating him like porcelain.

He'd texted Calum briefly yesterday about what happened, even though Luke knew Calum was playing was playing a match, and during the game's break, Calum had called him to check if he was all right.

Luke wasn't sure but he thought he was okay. He felt like he was to blame just as much as Michael was, but on the other hand he knew he'd been completely in his right to act the way he did.

Three knocks on the door pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Can I come in?" Ben asked through the wood. Luke grumbled something into his pillow and heard the door open and close again. The bed dipped as Ben sat down on the edge.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently, placing a sturdy, warm hand on Luke's back.

Luke took a deep breath and turned around, sitting up to face his brother, tucking his legs underneath him. "Michael didn't kick my ass for being gay, if that's what you were worrying about," he said, tugging on the hem of his shirt.

"I know he didn't; he even thanked mom and dad for dinner before he left, he seems like a good kid."

"Why are you here then?"

Ben swung an arm around Luke's shoulders en pressed him into his chest. "To check up on you, of course—and to pitch for how long I need to ban Jack from my Netflix account."

A smile tugged at Luke's mouth. "Please don't take away anything that keeps him occupied," he said, snickering. His face fell a little and he said, "are you leaving for college again?"

"You know I have to," Ben said, the folds of laughter in his face softening.

Luke nodded. Ben always left on Sunday afternoons, his classes started early on Monday and he wouldn't make it there on time if he had to travel all the way in the morning. 

"I'll be back on Friday evening, you'll see me again before you know it." Ben smiled softly at his little brother and lifted him up by the armpits to drag him onto his lap—he didn't care Luke was already seventeen; he would always be his little brother—. Luke curled his arms around Ben's neck and clung to him like a baby koala. 

"I just wish you didn't have to go," he whispered into the plaid fabric of Ben's shirt.

Ben's hand rubbed the back of Luke's neck. "Jack will still be here."

A sigh left Luke's lips. He knew he'd still have Jack, but it wasn't the same: Jack was for fun, Ben was for comfort, and although he was in need of both of these, there was one he craved more.

Prying Luke's fingers loose, Ben stood up and set his little brother down on the bed where he crossed his legs and stared up at him. "I have to go catch my bus. If you want to talk, I'll still have my phone with me, okay?" he asked, eyes big and worried.

Luke nodded and gathered all the strength he could muster to put a smile on his face. "I'll be fine."

Ben ruffled Luke's hair. "See you on Friday, yeah?"

"Yeah. Have fun this week," Luke mumbled, his shoulders sagging as soon as his older brother turned around to make his way to the door.

The door was almost completely closed when it suddenly swung open again. "Looks like you got a visitor," Ben said, poking his head inside. He waved once more and then he was gone, replaced by a familiar, warm friend.

"Cal!"

"Hey, Hemmo," Calum said, closing the door behind him and making his way over to Luke to hug him briefly but tightly. "You look like shit."

Luke glared at him. "Thanks."

Calum pretended he didn't notice Luke's annoyance. "You've got to get out of your room, buddy." The only response from Luke was him crinkling his nose. "Oh, come on," Calum continued, "you can't stay inside sulking forever! I know somewhere you'll really, really want to go." Calum's eyes glittered. He knew exactly how to lure Luke out of his miserable bubble.

"Where?" Luke said, blinking stupidly.

"It's a surprise, dumb ass," Calum called as he walked over to the door and disappeared into the hallway. He returned seconds later with a wet washing cloth in his hand.

Knowing exactly what was coming, Luke groaned and braced himself as his friend rubbed his face with the cold, damp fabric.

Calum's movements were firm but not harsh; he started at Luke's eyes, then moved on to his forehead and his nose, rubbed small circles on his cheeks and chin, and ended up with swiping the cloth swiftly down his neck. "Much better," he said, stepping back and admiring his work from a distance, "can't have you looking like a zombie where we're going."

Luke rolled his eyes but he had to admit, the cold wetness on his face had actually made him feel better—fresher. Cheeks pink, he watched as Calum rummaged around in the pile of clothes on Luke's floor.

Finally, he pulled out a black baseball tee with white sleeves decorated with three black stars each, and a pair of clean, black skinny jeans, and threw them in Luke's face. "Get dressed, I'll wait downstairs."

~

Calum was practically bouncing on his feet the whole way, it made Luke feel giddy. "What's so exciting? Why won't you tell me?"

"I told you, it's a surprise!" Calum said, skipping ahead. "It's great, though. You'll love it!" he broadcasted over his shoulder.

Luke rolled his eyes but he was laughing as he ran up to Calum who had stopped in front of a building. From the big wooden sign that hung above the door, Luke guessed it was a bar. _Paradise_ , the sign read.

His friend grinned at him as he held open the door and elegantly motioned for him to step inside. Luke made a show of politely inclining his head as a thank you and walking inside with his nose stuck up in the air.

The scent of cinnamon and beer hit his nostrils as soon as he swept his feet on the doormat. "Good afternoon," a voice said absently yet friendly. It came from the bartender who was busy cleaning some glasses. Luke looked around the room nosily.

The bar was small and cozy. Even though the wall facing the street was almost completely made of glass, the harsh sunlight was kept at bay by some window film covering most of the glass and a pair of big, black curtains framing the windows. Warm lighting spread a soft glow through the room.

It was somewhat narrow and it stretched out to the back. There were about seven round, dark wooden tables surrounded by a few chairs each. The bar itself was located on the longitude of the left wall, a considerable amount of glasses hanging from racks and rows of bottles covering the wall behind it. There were some wines, whiskeys and vodkas but they were clearly outnumbered by the big assortment of special beer. Luke hadn't even known there were so many different kinds of beer.

"I am in _paradise_ ," Luke gasped, impudently overdoing a heavenly expression, closing his eyes and bringing a hand to his chest.

Calum snorted and shook his head, laughing at the few customers that raised their eyebrows at them. He grabbed Luke by the arm gently and steered him towards the bar where an enthusiastic, young bartender was cheerfully whistling a familiar tune. Luke couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

"Hey, you!" Calum greeted the bartender. He hoisted himself up on a bar stool and Luke followed his lead. "This is my friend Luke, I brought him along as promised," he said with a smile in the bartender's direction.

The bartender's head full of curls shot up at the sound of Calum's voice. "Cal, hi, good to see you, man!"

 _Cal_? With a knot in his stomach, Luke wondered how long the two had known each other. He'd never heard Calum talk about tge bartender before but they acted as if they'd been friends since the womb, firmly shaking hands and patting each others' arms.

After the bartender was done smiling at Calum, he looked at Luke curiously, a dazzling smile still plastered on his face. "You must be Luke." He extended a hand, making Luke jump. His eyes gleamed when he smiled and Luke was afraid he was going to be blinded. "Cal has told me all about you, he promised me he'd introduce me to you. I'm Ashton," he said.

Luke took his hand, slightly overwhelmed. "Yeah, hi," he stammered.

"Has he told you about my proposal yet?" so-called Ashton inquired, nodding towards Calum without taking his eyes off Luke.

"Uhm, no?" Luke glared at Calum sideways. "Didn't know you were getting married, Cal." For some reason, the nickname tasted bitter on his tongue—as if he was only using it to show off how great friends they were. He just hoped Ashton didn't think of it that way.

Calum laughed. "Don't worry, Luke. You're still the only man in my life," he said, wrapping an arm around Luke's shoulders tightly. "But first things first," he said, his expression turning serious as he met Ashton's gaze. "I think some free food is in order, Ashton. Sweet, innocent Luke here did the thing."

Luke wasn't sure what Calum was talking about but he felt a blush creeping up his cheeks anyway as Ashton looked at him. How could Calum possibly know about Michael? He hadn't told anyone.

The curly haired bartender let out an exasperated sigh and turned around to get something from behind the bar. When he turned back to face them again, he was grinning. He handed them both a cup of steaming, dark liquid and a chocolate muffin. "One day," he giggled, shaking his head, "one day someone will come in here for the first time and not make that cursed joke."

"Hey, if you don't like the joke, you shouldn't have named this place Paradise," Calum said, stuffing half the muffin into his mouth.

Luke's mouth formed a small _o_  as he finally understood. Then he narrowed his eyes at the curly haired man. "Wait, you _own_  this bar?" he asked. Ashton couldn't be more than a few years older than them but Luke wasn't even old enough by law to drink beer, let alone run a bar with a great scale of different kinds of spirits.

"Hmhm," Ashton nodded. "Opened a few months ago." He looked so proud, even Luke had to admit it was kind of endearing.

He gaped at Ashton, astonished. Calum helped him out by placing his hand under Luke's chin, effectively bringing his mouth to a close. "And that's not even the coolest part," he said, grinning wickedly. "I first met Ashton when I was getting a coffee at Starbucks and humming some All Time Low while waiting to order. Ashton was behind me in line, he recognised the song and we got talking about music." Calum paused to take a sip of coffee.

 _All Time Low, of course._  Luke suddenly recalled the song Ashton had been whistling when they came in. _Lost In Stereo_ , he realised. "So what's the exciting news?" He asked impatiently, feeling a sudden giddiness at the mention of good music.

Ashton looked at Calum as if asking for permission to continue the story. Calum shrugged and Ashton picked it up from there. "We talked about bands and musicians for a while and Calum mentioned that you two often play music together. It just so happens to be that I'm looking for some people to play in my bar every now and then."

It took a moment for the words to sink in. As soon as the meaning hit him, Luke choked on his drink, spraying coffee out of his nose.

Calum laughed at him, face beaming, and gently patted him on the back as Ashton giggled.

After violently coughing for half a minute, he looked from Ashton to Calum and back to Ashton again. "You want us to play for you?" he asked, incredulous.

"Technically I want you to play for my customers, but yes."

"Holy crap," Luke blurted out, excitedly hitting Calum's arm repeatedly. He couldn't wait to tell Michael about this. For a split second, his expression fell; he quickly regained his composure but Calum had already noticed.

"What's wrong?" Calum asked, eyes worried. "Don't you want this?" He sounded seriously anxious.

"No, no, of course I want to. That'd be great!" Luke hurried to say. "I just... I don't know if I'm good enough."

Calum's shoulders relaxed. "I told you, Ash. He has no idea how good he is," he said proudly.

Luke felt himself blush furiously under Ashton's gaze once again. The curly haired young man looked at him with gentle admiration. "Great! That's settled then," he decided.

A stream of newfound joy and excitement made its way through Luke's body. There were actually going to play for people. In _a bar_.

As the two others went on discussing things like preparations, dates and band practice, Luke just smiled into his cup of coffee. He had been so busy with the mermaid secret that he'd put his dreams on hold. He'd always wanted to play in a band or just be able to turn music into a living. He couldn't for the life of him explain why he'd put that aside temporarily in order to spend more time with someone who didn't even want to be his friend.

He was so grateful Calum was always there to remind him of who he was, helping him chase his dreams. He felt sorry for partially neglecting him for the past two weeks or so.

He leaned over and smacked a sloppy kiss on Calum's cheek. Calum's eyebrows shot up in surprise but there were crinkles around his eyes. "What was that for?" he asked, laughing.

Luke shrugged. "I'm just glad to have you."

The smile on Calum's face grew, making his eyes sparkle. "I'm glad to have you, too, man," he said. There was something about his voice that made Luke feel sad. So Calum _had_  been missing him lately. He silently promised that he would put more energy in their friendship—something as ancient as their connection was much more important than a centuries-long kept secret about merpeople.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was that! I hope you liked the new chapter, Ash's introduction was actually one of the first scenes I wrote for this fic and it hasn't changed much since then, bless. -and, as always, let me know if there are things I can improve on (:  
> Feel free to come talk to me about mermaids, 5sos or civil war (which I saw yesterday eep) on [my tumblr](http://cliffordiste.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Thank you so much and have a lovely day! x


	10. Clear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !Warning: there are homophobic slurs and mildly violent/bullying behaviour in this chapter. Come talk to me if you're sensitive to any of these but want to read this chapter anyway!

Walking up to the sports field, Luke yawned groggily and admired the drive Calum must have to show up for training this early in the morning. Luke couldn't do so much as walk before 10 AM, let alone do an entire football training starting at 7 AM.

Luke suspected a big part of Calum's interest was the bond he had with his team, they were honest and always had his back, and whenever they won a match, it was impossible to separate the group within the first five minutes of victory. But if getting up at the crack of dawn was the price to pay for that kind of friendship, Luke didn't want it.

In a few minutes, training would be over and he and Calum would walk to their first class together. The gardeners were already sitting on the bleachers, waiting for the players to clear off so they could start maintenance on the field.

Luke spotted his friend on the field quickly; Calum was goofing around with one of his teammates, continuously trying to steal the ball from one another—he could tell Calum was holding back for the other boy's sake. Before he could call out, however, a rumbling voice boomed into his ears.

"Like what you see?"

Confused, Luke spun around and was met by a muscular chest only inches away from his nose. He took a careful step back and furrowed his brows. "Er, yes, why?"

He looked up and met Big Guy's eyes; they weren't friendly, but something about them seemed familiar.

"I was afraid you'd say that," Big Guy said. He poked an accusing finger into Luke's chest and added in a low voice, "I don't want no fags on my brother's team."

Fear clawed at Luke's throat, he hadn't come out to anyone but his family and Michael—and Calum, of course, but he counted as family. Then he realised the mistake. "I'm-I'm not _in_  the team," he stammered.

Big Guy blinked at him. "Obviously not, but your boyfriend is."

But if this wasn't about Michael... Luke frowned but then his face unfroze and laughter came roaring from his lungs. "Calum?" He hiccuped.

He'd never looked at it from the outside before, and somehow, the thought of them dating was hilarious to Luke, sending him into another fit of giggles. "You think Calum and I—"

"I don't _think,_ I _saw_ ," Big Guy said. "You two were sucking face in that bar the other day, don't even try to deny it because I saw it with my own two eyes. Now I don't give a fuck about what you do when you're alone but if I ever see you two getting handsy in public again, I will make sure you regret it; _both_ of you. Once Martin gets in the national team, I don't want anything to link him to you and your filthy business, understood?" he said, his voice unnaturally calm.

So that's why Luke vaguely recognised this guy; he was Martin Kingsley's brother: Aaron, notorious for his bulk muscle and complete lack of sympathy.

The laughter faded from Luke's eyes and he backed up against the fence, suddenly feeling anxious. Gulping down the lump in his throat, he searched his mind frantically for a way to explain that the peck on Calum's cheek was meant as nothing more than friendly, but whatever he came up with, he knew Aaron wouldn't believe him.

"I said," Aaron said, and ducked his head to Luke's eye level and squinted at him, "is that understood?"

The condescending tone is what did it for Luke; he'd had it with people telling him how to define his relationships. Calum was his one and only best friend and they'd do whatever the hell they liked.

Luke tilted his chin and clenched his jaw. "You stay away from Calum," he said through gritted teeth, "he's the best player in the team and everyone knows it."

He saw Aaron's nostrils flare and his eyes flash dangerously. Luke was firmly gripped by the shoulders and pressed into the fence, hard. In reflex, Luke pressed his palms into Aaron's chest, shoving him away, but Mr. Muscle was already coming at him again, his lips curled into a snarl.

Luke's heart stopped as he realised he was about to be beat into the ground. He knew he was no match for Aaron, why couldn't he just have nodded and told him he understood? Then this would all have been over. He braced himself and set his jaw; if he was going to go down, he'd do it with dignity.

Out of nowhere, a beam of water hit Aaron square in the jaw. Blinking in disbelief, Luke located the source; one of the hoses laying around next to the field was spurting water, and, at a safe distance, someone with blue hair, half hidden behind the building that held the cafeteria; Michael. Or as Luke liked to call it: a miracle.

He wasted no time and struggled out of Aaron's grip, darting towards Michael. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Aaron sputtering against the steady stream of water spraying into his face, his hands grabbing into the air aimlessly.

As soon as Luke rounded the corner, Michael lowered his hands and the hose fell to the ground. Aaron wiped his face and frowned at the lifeless piece of gardening equipment laying on the ground.

Noticing Luke was gone, he roared and kicked at the grass before making his way to the car park with a completely soaked shirt and water dripping from his dark hair into his face.

"Holy crap," Luke breathed from behind the cafeteria, "he looks like he's going to cut a bitch."

Next to him, Michael shot him a look. "Specifically _this_ bitch," he said, jabbing a finger into Luke's chest.

"I thought I was going to end up in hospital, fuck. That dude really lives up to his reputation."

"Yeah, what's up with that? What on earth were you thinking—picking a fight with Aaron fucking King, of all people? Everyone knows he's not right in the head!"

Luke huffed. " _I_  didn't do anything, he just came on to me. Not to mention I didn't even know who he was until he started babbling about his brother."

Furrowing his brows, Michael said, "What'd you do to cross him?"

"Nothing, I told you! But he seems to think Calum and I are dating..."

Hysterical laughter tumbled from Michael's lips. Noticing Luke's straight face, his expression quickly turned serious. "You're not though, right?"

Luke slapped him on the arm. "No, of course not! Cal is like a brother to me. Being gay is one thing but incest is a whole something else."

"All right, all right, just making sure. No need to get angry." After a brief silence he added, "Why would he care?"

"I have no idea," Luke sighed, "something about not wanting his brother to be associated with fags? I don't know, it didn't make sense." Luke shook his head and stiffled a laugh. To be honest, he was relieved. For a second there, he'd thought Aaron knew about him and Michael—not that anything was going on, but still, they'd kissed. Painfully aware of what took place last time he'd seen Michael, Luke averted his gaze and swallowed the lump in his throat.

The turquoise haired boy seemed to be thinking about the exact same thing because he looked away, too.

"Thanks, by the way," Luke mumbled, "for doing the—" He made a swirling motion with his hands. "—watery ... thing."

A shrug moved Michael's shoulders. "You're welcome." After a moment of silence, he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, I suppose. For earlier."

"All right." A part of Luke wanted to apologise too, but his pride wasn't letting him. He hadn't done anything wrong besides being a little harsh—but then why did he want to make Michael feel better so bad?

He raked a hand through his hair and sighed. "Would you care to come over tonight and let me win a round of FIFA as proper apology?"

Michael's face fell but his shoulders relaxed. "I'm sorry, I can't tonight. How about this afternoon?"

"I have plans this afternoon," Luke admitted, though it pained him. Quickly, he added, "I can see if I can reschedule, though. I'll text you?"

Michael agreed and went on his way after a short exchange of awkward waves. 

Keeping an eye out for angry big brothers, Luke jogged up to the changing rooms, but Calum intercepted him halfway and hugged him tightly, lifting him off the ground so Luke's feet dangled inches above the concrete. "Good morning, Hemmo!"

Luke moaned and, when Calum had set him back down and the air returned to his lungs, he mumbled, "Good morning to you, too, jeez."

Calum just chuckled lightly, grabbed his bag from the floor and started towards the school building.

Luke found his feet glued to the ground. He really, really didn't want to ask this of Calum—not after he'd promised himself to not take his best friend for granted, not after Calum had given him so much space—and yet here he was...

He cleared his throat. "Hey, Cal," he said, making his friend stop in tracks and look at him."I was wondering if we could do rehearsals tonight instead of noon?"

Rubbing his neck, Calum pressed his lips together. "I'm sorry, I have plans tonight. Why, what's up?"

"No, it's fine. Never mind. It's nothing," Luke said, smiling reassuringly, he started to walk away but Calum caught his arm.

"Is it Michael?" When he got no response, he said, "All right, we'll reschedule. Go and sort things out with Michael first, okay?"

Luke threw his head backwards and heaved a deep sigh. He could barely resist Calum's offer. "Rehearsals are more important, Cal."

"Hey," Calum said, gently gripping Luke by the shoulders, "I know how shit you are when you're distracted. Just talk to Mikey first, we'll do practice tomorrow, all right?"

Shaking his head, Luke felt a smile creep onto his face. "Thanks... I guess?"

Calum laughed, ruffled Luke's hair, and started walking in the direction of the school building, his arm still around Luke's shoulders.

~

"My parents are at work, Ben is at uni and my other brother is pleitos, so unless you're afraid Molly's going to rat you out, we have the whole house to ourselves," Luke said as he let Michael in.

"I didn't know you had a sister," Michael said, frowning.

Luke's lips twitched and he pressed them together tightly. "Molly's our dog."

"Oh," Michael said as it dawned on him. He burst out into a short fit of laughter, making Luke join him. They stilled and were left standing opposite each other, their eyes meeting.

"So," Luke said, refusing to look away, "FIFA?"

Michael nodded. "FIFA."

Making his way over to the living room, Luke explained to Michael how they got to have an XBox as well as a PlayStation—Ben had wanted to play Fable but it wasn't available for the PlayStation, so he'd convinced their parents to buy an XBox for them if they promised to keep their rooms clean for a month. Needless to say, Andy and Liz were the only ones keeping their end of the bargain, even though the Hemmings boys had definitely tried to keep theirs.

Between matches, Michael put the controller in his lap and turned around on his behind to face Luke. "Look, I shouldn't have kissed you, I'm sorry. We're definitely not on kissing terms so the least I could've done was ask for permission or give you a warning. I made a mistake and I want you to know that I am really sorry," he said after taking a deep breath.

"All right." Luke nodded, twisting his upper body sideways in Michael's direction. "I suppose I'm sorry for getting mad at you, I panicked and I overreacted. I could have handled things better."

Sticking out his hand to hover between him and Luke, Michael looked Luke in the eye and raised his eyebrows. "So we're even?"

Luke searched Michael's gaze for a moment, and took his hand to give it a firm shake. "We're even," he confirmed, holding on to Michael's clammy hand a bit longer than he intended.

Now the apologies were out of the way, Michael no longer spared Luke and beat him five out of five times in the matches they played next, but for a change, it didn't dampen Luke's mood much.

"I didn't mean what I said, you know," Luke admitted quietly at half match, "I'm actually glad we're friends."

He felt Michael go rigid besides him.

The merman cleared his throat and swallowed. "Luke," he rasped, "I told you, we can't—"

"Yes, yes, you don't do friendships," Luke cut him off and rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, what do you call this then— _acquaintanceship_?" He looked at Michael for a response but his face was blank.

Luke frowned, feeling anger bubble up inside of him. "Seriously, Michael. What is it with you? Do you think humans are not good enough for you, do you not like me enough? Why won't you just tell me? "

Michael studied the floor, fidgeting with his sleeves. "You misunderstand. I mean that we _can't_  be friends," he muttered.

Grinding his teeth, Luke stood up. "Fine, we're not. Don't worry about it," he snapped, making Michael flinch. "If you'd rather wallow in self pity about that one friend you lost; so be it, but I'm not going to put up with it any longer until you give me a good reason to," he said coolly. It sounded a billion times more venomous than he had intended.

He knew he shouldn't be picking fights again, but the truth was that he had a temper he usually had a lid on, and Michael made him lose control.

Michael's jaw clenched and when Luke met his gaze, his eyes were flaming. "You know what?" Michael said, standing up to face Luke, controller forgotten on the carpet. "Fine," he snarled, face just inches away from Luke's.

Surpressing the reckless pulsing in his veins, it took Luke every single piece of self control he had in him to not kiss those ridiculously pink lips. "Fine what?" he choked out, refusing to let go of Michael's gaze.

"Fine; have it your way. Fine; go ahead and call us friends. Fine; if that shuts you up for once in your fucking life!"

Luke's breathing came with hot, ragged breaths, his heart beating against his ribcage. He wanted to fight Michael but to his surprise, when the words sunk in, he realised that he was actually having his way. Taken aback, he snapped his mouth shut,

"Happy now?" Michael inquired with raised eyebrows. Wordlessly, Luke nodded and swallowed down the lump in his throat.

"Good," Michael concluded, visibly deflating. He sat down and patted the pillow beside him. "Now sit down and retrieve your controller so you can unsuccessfully try to win this game."

Sitting back down, Luke felt his lips twitch. Michael had finally admitted they were friends.

Slowly, Luke's heart rate went back to normal and his fists unclenched. He noticed Michael's posture soften too. "I'm sor—" he tried.

"Don't worry about it," Michael said, cutting him off. His voice was light, though. "Friend," he added, eyeing Luke sideways with a small smirk on his face.

Picking up his controller, Luke grinned and shook his head. The amount of patience Michael had with him was ridiculous; Luke had already burst around him twice in a row, and still Michael remained at his side. He wondered why good people always managed to find their way into his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter!  
> If you can, please let me know what you think, your opinions mean the world to me ♥


	11. Straw

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, I know this took ages but I've been so busy with work and all that!  
> Anyhow, please enjoy the chapter (:

The first song Calum and Luke played during their very first band practice, was a favourite of both: I Miss You by Blink 182, it was one of the first songs they ever covered together and they never tired of playing it, not even after all those years.

Luke was glad he knew it by heart or he would've sounded awful; his mind was preoccupied and his fingers kept slipping off the snares.

He still hadn't decided whether he should tell Calum about Aaron's assault or not. He wanted his friend to be safe, but he guessed that, if he told him, Calum would go after the bastard immediately and get himself hurt in the process.

If things got worse, he'd tell him; but for now, he hoped Aaron would lie low or just let it go altogether.

"Hello? Earth to Luke? I asked you something."

Luke shook his head as if to shake off his thoughts, and looked up at Calum. "Sorry, what?"

Calum sighed, not impatiently, and met his eyes, saying, "What's wrong? I thought you and Michael made up—you two are all right again, right?"

"Yeah, no, it's not that. We're good," Luke hurried to say, plucking at the strings of his guitar absentmindedly. "It's nothing, I—what did you say you asked?"

Calum smiled. He knew Luke long enough to know when to pry and, most importantly, when not to. "I asked if there were any songs in particular you really want to play at our first gig," he said, eyes on Luke's busy fingers.

"Oh!" Luke perked up at the thought of their first performance. He definitely wanted to make it a good one so he tried his best to pull his mind back to the moment, practice was important. "I did have a few ideas..."

  
~

"Hey, we should do something some time," Luke said to Michael, pouring drinks for both of them. They'd played through another chapter of Thief, and, even though the game was no longer scary, he liked playing it with Michael, taking turns and trying to beat each other's scores.

Michael had planted his butt on the smooth surface of the dinner table and was dangling his feet back and forth as he took the glass Luke handed him, double checking for moisture on the glass. "We already are doing something, aren't we?"

"Well, yeah," Luke said, shrugging his shoulders. "But I mean, like, go out. Do something other than playing video games—not that I don't like it, but there's got to be other fun stuff out there, right?"

Michael had to give him that. "What did you have in mind?" he asked, leaning in slightly.

"Well... Calum showed me this really nice bar the other day, I was thinking maybe we could go there?"

"Not during the busy hours."

Luke bit his lip. "We can go tomorrow, right after school. We don't have many classes tomorrow so you'll be home at a decent time and your aunt won't even notice you've been away."

"Yeah, all right," Michael said, his face lighting up visibly, "sounds fun!"

It was the first time Luke entered the bar since Calum and Ash had broken the news to him, and it filled him with a bubbling excitement again. He was going to play in this bar one of these days! The idea was still somewhat incomprehensible to him.

"Good aftern—oh, hey, Luke!" called an energetic voice that already sounded familiar to Luke-if there was one thing Ashton was good at, it had to be talking-.

Luke smiled and said, "Hey, Ash!" before touching the small of Michael's back to steer him in the direction of the table in the corner by the window.

"You _know_  the bartender?" Michael asked with wide eyes.

A lopsided grin twisted Luke's lips upwards. "I do, but don't expect any free beers—or even beer at all, for that matter. Ashton doesn't serve underage teens," he said with a wink.

Michael laughed and sat down before Luke had the chance to pull out the chair for him. Shuffling about in his seat, Michael grabbed one of the menus from the small wooden stand in the middle of the table's surface.

Apart from drinks, Paradise served a few snacks and fried food, Luke had offered to pay for whatever it was Michael was getting as well as his own—it had taken some convincing, but eventually Michael had given in grudgingly.

Luke already knew what he was getting, and he waited patiently for Michael to make his choice, watching his blue hair play in the soft breeze that come from the slightly ajar front door. The spot was a nice one he'd picked on purpose; not only were they sheltered from most other visitors by a huge potted plant, the light was abundant but soft through the blurry film covering the windows, reflecting off Michael's pale skin in a faint glow.

"I'm going for a cheese toastie and an Ice Tea, I think," Michael said, putting the menu back on the table.

Luke nodded approvingly. "All right, will do. We'll just have to wait for Ashton to come over, I suppose," he said, he hadn't really ordered anything here before.

"Okay," Michael said.

Tapping his fingers on the table, Luke waited for Michael to say something else, but it remained silent. Eventually he spoke up himself.

"So, as a creature from mythology, do you know if any other fantasy creatures actually exist?" he asked, eyeing Michael curiously.

"Well, as I told you before, fairies do not," Michael said, a grin on his face. "Werewolves just might, they'd be able to hide among humans like I do and they could even wander the forest in their true form because no human would see the difference, so I see a possibility there. As for fauns and centaurs... I don't think so, if they did exist we would've known about those half horse or half goat people, you can't hide something that big and—"

"You do," Luke cut him off.

"True, but I only transform through water. What's supposed to set off the transformation for centaurs—hay?"

Luke snickered. "All right, I suppose you could be right."

"That's what I thought," Michael said, smirking slightly. "Dragons are something else, though. I think they might've existed in the past; I mean, there's so many paintings and stories of them in all different continents and cultures, there's got to be some truth in them, right? I think they might've gone extinct or something, or they're hiding in volcanoes and underground caves. Or under water, the ocean is massive, something as big as a sea dragon could easily hide from humanity—although I've never seen one in all my years under the surface." Michael abruptly pressed his lips together and set his jaw, sitting up straight.

Luke frowned. "Wait, you mean to say you used to live in the ocean? I always thought you grew up on land and had to leave everything when you turned," he said, deep in thought. The image of Michael he had in his head was changing drastically. "So your parents—"

"—were mermaids, too, yes." Michael said grimly.

Not wanting to push, Luke just nodded. "Okay," he said. He was dying to know what happened but he knew better than to ask. "You've... adjusted well," he offered.

Michael snorted. "Thanks," he said, his lips curling upwards in a half assed smile, "Serena taught me all about land life."

"Serena?" Luke asked, knitting his eyebrows together.

"Oh, right. It's my aunt's name."

"Oh," Luke said. "Does she offer lessons in punk rock culture, too?"

Michael's face broke into a grin. "No, that was one of my own discoveries."

All of a sudden, Ashton's perky voice sounded, startling the two. "What can I get you two today?" Upon seeing Michael jump, Ashton laughed and held his hands up in the air, saying, "woah, calm down, it's just me!"

Luke chuckled with him, and said, "sorry, I didn't realise you were able to shut up at all, so you can imagine my surprise at your quiet approach. How are you today, Ash?"

"Splendid!" Ashton said, beaming at Luke. He pushed a few curls out of his face and extended a hand to Michael. "I'm Ashton."

Michael's gaze flicked towards Luke before it settled on Ashton. "Michael," he said, taking Ashton's hand.

Ashton gave it a single firm shake before letting go and grabbing his pen and notebook from the table.

"Old fashioned," Michael remarked with raised eyebrows.

Giving him a curious sideways glance, the corner of Ashton's mouth twisted upwards. "I find that electrical order devices clash with the atmosphere in Paradise. Plus, writing it down helps me remember it better."

Impressed, Michael's lips twisted downwards as he nodded, and looked at Luke—who smiled almost apologetically. "So it's not grunge enough?"

"Exactly!" Ashton said. His grin faltered and he sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "The truth is, they'd cost me more than they'd bring in, so I can't really afford them... but this is cooler anyway."

Luke didn't know how to respond to this, and played with the fabric of his shirt instead.

"Yeah, this is is more grunge-y!" Michael offered with a smile on his face.

The lines in Ashton's face evened out—apart from the dimples in his cheeks. "More grunge-y, that's right!" After a small pause he added, "Anyways, what can I get you two today?"

"Ah." Luke's face turned serious. "It saddens me to announce that Michael did _not_  do the thing, but I'd like to order a chocolate muffin and a coffee anyway," Luke said, winking at Ashton—who laughed and scribbled something down.

"And you?" he asked, turning to Michael.

Michael looked at the menus on the table as if he needed their reassurance. "I er—a cheese toastie and some Ice Tea, please," he stammered.

"All right, will do!" Ashton said in that bubbly voice of his. "I'll bring it over in a few minutes," he said, before turning around on his heels and finding his way back to the bar.

"The thing?" Michael inquired, one eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, every time someone brings in a new customer who makes a joke about being in paradise, they get a free coffee and snack," Luke said, waving it away with his hand.

Michael grinned at him. "New customers like you?"

Even though Luke had tried so hard to keep his face neutral, a desperate sigh left his lips. "How did you know?" he asked, eyes fixated on Michael's.

"Your sense of humor is horrible," Michael admitted, his voice almost lilting. He lifted his shoulders while he put up big eyes—as if he was sorry for saying it.

"Hey!" Luke laughed, his pretend—offence quickly falling away. "At least it earned me a free chocolate muffin last time."  
  
"True." Michael smirked and fingered one of the napkins with his left hand.

A comfortable silence followed, and Luke leaned back, slinging one arm over the arm rest loosely.

Not long after, Ashton showed up with a tray, and on it a mug, a glass, and two plates. "There you go," he said as he laid out a coaster in front of Michael, putting the glass on top of it. He did the same for Luke, and then placed the plates on the table as well, the porcelain clunking against the heavy wood.

Raising his hand to hover next to his face, Michael said, "Sorry, could I have a straw, maybe?"

"Oh, yeah, sure! Let me get one for you," Ashton said, disappearing again.

"He seems nice," Michael said, his eyes following Ashton's movements.

Nodding, Luke replied, "He is. Calum introduced me to him..." Luke trailed off, his foot tapping on the floor impatiently.

Michael looked at him, green eyes glittering even though they were shadowed by his hair, and his head cocked to the side. "What is it?" he said, gentle curiosity in his tone.

Luke, who had been biting his lip, couldn't take it any longer and burst out into words, excitement making his eyes twinkle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it, and I wish you all a good weekend! x
> 
> Come find me on [my Tumblr](http://cliffordiste.tumblr.com).


	12. Petrichor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is for [Caitlin](http://mikeyreject.tumblr.com/) who recently reached 1k, congratulations, sweetie!
> 
> NOTE: there's a mention of death in this character. If you're sensitive to that, come talk to me first or read with caution.

"Oh, come on, Michael, it's not like you're going to get wet. You said so yourself: a few drops don't matter," Luke pleaded.

Michael bit his lip and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

Luke sighed, turned on his heels, and vanished into the living room only to reappear a moment later with a colourful fleece blanket in his arms. "Please?" he said, putting on his cutest smile.

Recognising the logo on the blanket, Michael's eyes sparkled mischievously and his lips twisted into a smile. Luke exclaimed triumphantly, and wrapped the other boy in the My Little Pony blanket, taking him outside by the hand.

Michael let himself be dragged away, and fidgeted with the fabric until his head was properly covered, then he tucked his hands back into his sleeves, pulling Luke's hand inside as well.

Luke just smiled at him and lead the way to the back of the garden where a cosy bower was located at the edge of the small forest that marked the garden's end. Michael busied himself with watching his feet and constantly checking for water drops on his skin.

Luke enjoyed this version of Michael. It was like watching a little kid trying the big slide for the first time in his life.

The garden house was octagonal, two of the panels were formed entirely by doors with multiple small windows in it, the others were made of a heavy wood that was painted in a light colour, just as the floor was. Above that was a pointy roof in a dark shade of brown, made up out of small, smooth tiles.

"There we are," Luke said, opening the light wooden doors. Inside, he took Michael's blanket and spread it out on the floor. In the back stood his brothers' race bikes, his dad's lawn mower and his mother's rolled up hammock that leaned against a folded set of garden chairs. He suspected Michael had already used his powers to dry the blanket, it felt soft and warm and Michael didn't hesitate to plant his cute butt on it.

Luke froze.

"You all right?" Michael asked beside him, frowning.

Luke shook his head, pulling himself out of his thoughts. "Yeah." Luke smiled at him reassuringly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

The corners of Michael's lips were pulled down into a slight pout. "Don't know, just checking," he said, averting his gaze.

For a while, the only sound they heard was the soft pitter patter of raindrops falling down on the earth and grass. The wooden walls breathed a familiar scent, and Luke enjoyed the minimal view of nothing but grass, trees and rain, feeling the warmth of Michael's presence next to him. It was safe and comforting, and soon, Luke felt his eyelids become heavy.

~

Something touched his nose. Repeatedly. Luke rubbed his face and groaned, rolling over. A soft chuckle filled his ears, and he opened his eyes only to be met by a pair of green eyes and a small smile; Michael's finger was on his nose.

Bolting upright, Luke barely missed a headbutt with the merman. Had he fallen asleep? He didn't remember falling asleep. He looked around frantically but everything looked the same as before; just wood and grass and rain — and Michael.

"Relax," Michael said, laying on his side next to Luke. "It's only been about half an hour since you dozed off."

Luke grumbled and felt a blush creeping up his cheeks. He hadn't meant to take a nap, it just happened. "I'm sorry."

"That's all right."

"No, I totally bailed on you," Luke said, wiping the sleep from his eyes. "I was supposed to entertain you."

Michael leaned back on his elbows. "Watching you sleep was entertaining," he said, the skin around his eyes wrinkling.

Oh no. Luke groaned again, "Please tell me I didn't snore."

This time, Michael's lips joined in the smile. He turned his head to look at the still ongoing rain outside. "Don't worry; no snoring here."

Luke sighed and let his head fall back on the blanket.

"You drooled."

Pressing his eyes shut, Luke covered his face — and hopefully his burning cheeks as well — with his hands, quickly wiping at his mouth.

"Hey," the turquoise haired boy said, his voice half a chuckle, "that's all right. It was—" He paused for effect. "Entertaining." Luke grunted, and Michael grinned, saying, "I totally took a video, by the way, so I can sell it for a lot of money once you and Calum get famous."

"I knew it was a mistake to tell you," Luke said, dragging a hand over his face to hide his smile. Of course, he didn't regret telling Michael in the least; the look on his face had been golden when Luke had finally burst and told him about Ashton's invite for him and Calum to play in Paradise.

When the bartender had returned with the requested straw, Michael had double checked with Ashton in case Luke had been messing with him. Since then, Michael had grabbed onto every possibility to tease him with it.

"Everyone likes a good opportunity to brag about their talents," Michael said, shrugging lightly, "although usually people are actually good at what they brag about." He glanced sideways at Luke, and winked.

"Fuck you," Luke said, laughing softly to himself. "You can talk," he added, nodding in Michael's direction, "with your magic mermaid fingers."

"No one has ever asked me to perform at their bar."

"True." Luke had to give him that, and tilted his head, his mouth forming a grin. "Maybe you're not as good as you think, either."

Michael stuck his nose up in the air indignantly, and Luke laughed. Michael's eyes lit up mischievously, and he curled his index finger as if he were firing off a rubber band single handedly. And sure enough, a single raindrop stopped on its way down and hovered in their direction instead.

Holding his breath, Luke watched as the drop travelled horizontally through the air and landed on his nose. He wiped it off with his sleeve and chuckled. "That's pretty sick," he admitted, bringing a onesided smirk on Michael's lips.

"You think that's cool? Watch this!" Michael told Luke, his eyes twinkling. He spread his hands, all ten fingers pointing towards the door. Then, with a swift movement of his hands, he pulled an entire sphere of raindrops inside and let it hover in front of Luke's face.

Hundreds of tiny drops of water glistened in his view. Luke felt his jaw drop and looked at Michael through the drops, speechless, eyes wide. Shifting his focus to the rain frozen in time, he slowly raised a finger and touched one of the drops; it spread out and slid down Luke’s finger as soon as it came into contact with his skin.

“That is… wow. That is … that’s magical,” Luke breathed out. He shook his head and chuckled. Looking up, he saw Michael stare at him with a sideways smile plastered on his face.

Michael’s smile faltered. “Luke, I have to tell you something,” he said firmly, his voice quivering only slightly.

Worry spread out in Luke’s chest like cold liquid filling his veins. He sat up and met Michael’s eyes, “Okay.”

“I’ve had a friend before,” Michael said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes, you told me.” Luke felt his posture soften. “You said she died,” he added, gently.

The way the muscles in Michael’s shoulders tensed told Luke that this was worse than friends dying on any account. There was a pain that cut through him like a knife, and he was only experiencing it second hand. Even though he had been curious about what had happened, he didn’t want Michael to tell him, he didn’t want to be responsible for Michael feeling sad.

Michael went on anyway. “We became friends in my first year on land. I was having a rough time adjusting to land life, and all the kids thought I was a weirdo — and so did she, no doubt. I think she knew it better than everyone else, to be honest, but she didn’t mind. She was just glad to have me, even though I was the shittiest friend you can imagine.”

“You still are,” Luke said, trying his hardest not to grin.

Despite himself, Michael laughed softly. “I still am. But I used to be worse, trust me,” he said, his face folding into dreariness again. “She put up with me every day and I couldn’t give her much in return. So one day, I shared the only thing I could think of: my secret. She was cool about it, she said she hadn’t really stopped believing in mermaids and that she used to love them when she was younger.” Michael paused, the muscles in his face twitching as if he didn’t know whether to smile or cry.

By now, Luke knew what was coming, and there was nothing he could do or say to make this any easier for Michael, so he remained silent and hoped the hand he put on Michael’s back was at least a little comforting somehow. The steady pitter patter of the rain continued.

Michael’s voice was raspy when he continued, fumbling with his hands in his lap, his eyes cast down. “And then two weeks after I told her, she was run over by a car,” he mumbled, as if saying it softly would make it less painful. “It was a hit and run; they said it was an accident but I knew better. They never found the killer.” By the end of the sentence, Michael’s voice was hollow, matching the look in his eyes. His chest went up and down rapidly, and Luke slowly rubbed circles with his thumb over Michael’s back.

“I—that’s horrible,” he stammered.

Michael only nodded, and said, “I can’t— you shouldn’t—” He pressed his eyes closed and took a shaky breath. When he opened his eyes to look at Luke, his entire face scrunched up and tears glimmered in his eyes. “Luke, I—” Michael’s voice broke, and he hid his face in his hands, a whimper leaving his lips.

Quickly, Luke pried Michael’s hands away from his face and wrapped his arms around Michael’s neck, pulling him against his chest. “Hey,” he said gently, “it’s all right. Take your time.”

He felt his heart break as Michael buried his face in his chest and sobbed loudly into his shirt, heaving deep and shaky breaths every now and then. It wasn’t long until his shirt was completely soaked and covered in snot, but he couldn’t care less.

“Her name was Aimee,” Michael said, voice tight and quivering as he gripped at the fabric on Luke’s shoulder with one hand.

“It’s not your fault, Mikey,” Luke said, and leaned his cheek on Michael’s head, murmuring some useless soothing words into his hair. Feeling a lump form in his throat, he pulled Michael against his chest as tightly as possible, and time became irrelevant.

Finally, Michael’s sobs turned to soft whimpers and his ragged breathing evened out to slow, deep breaths. Luke’s hand was in Michael’s hair, slowly massaging his scalp, his eyes were closed.

“There are hunters,” Michael’s voice was raw and broken. “They thought she was the siren but they were after me—she died because of me, and I don't doubt they'll come for me again. You have to be careful. I need you to be safe,” he said. Although his voice trembled, there was a certain authority hidden underneath.

When Luke pried his eyes open, he found that his vision was blurry and his cheeks were damp. “I am,” he reassured him.

~

"An A minus?!" Luke exclaimed excitedly, tearing his eyes away from the paper to look at his friends.

Michael's eyes were glittering, and Calum looked unimpressed to anyone who didn't know him very well—Luke could tell that Calum was pleased, too, though he didn't show it.

"Maybe we should let you in on more school projects, Michael," Calum said, nudging Michael's arm, making him blush and rub his neck.

"If that means less work for me; I'm in," Michael said.

"That's a splendid idea, boys," Mr. Van Diemen said, his voice squaky as always. "Michael is one of my best students, you might just learn something from him; and in return, he might learn a thing or two from you," he added, granting them a kind wink.

As soon as Mr. Van Diemen turned his back, Calum scrunched up his nose. "I'm pretty sure winking at students is inappropriate," he complained. "Should we report him?"

Luke laughed. "Please don't, this is the highest grade I've ever gotten for Biology," he said. He'd never thought he could be so grateful for a bird watching project. The shrill sound of the bell was followed by the noise of chairs scraping over the floor and students slamming their books shut. "Wanna go play some music?" he offered, his gaze flicking from Calum to Michael.

Calum shook his head, "I can't, I've got somewhere to be in ten — but I'll catch you later, yeah?" Standing up, Calum strapped his bag around his shoulders and put a hand on Luke's back as he walked by on his way out. Luke placed his hand over Calum's before it slipped away, leaving Luke's hand to lie still on the fabric of his own shirt. "Yeah, see you," he muttered.

"Bye, Cal!" Michael called, receiving a wave from Calum—who didn't bother to turn around.

Luke shifted in his seat to reach for his bag. Putting his books away, he looked up at Michael, "Think your aunt's gonna let you come over today?"

Michael shrugged, and pushed his chair back, "Maybe." He'd already put away his books — or rather, he hadn't even gotten them out in the first place. How their teacher never seemed to notice was beyond Luke.

Flinging his backpack around one shoulder, Luke fell into step with Michael, making their way out of the class room. They'd taken to walking the first few streets together before parting ways to go to their respective homes. "That doesn't sound like a yes," he said, jutting out his bottom lip.

Michael pressed his lips together, "I'm sorry, I can't." Seeing Luke's posture slump, he quickly added, "I'm sorry, I really have to do homework today. I'm way behind!"

Luke narrowed his eyes at Michael, abruptly standing still right in the middle of the school's main entrance. "Since when do you do anything for school?" he asked, grumbling when some inobservant students bumped into his shoulder.

"I uh— since I—" Michael stammered, rubbing the back of his neck. His eyes flicking to Luke's before he cast them downwards, "since I started using it as an excuse to hang out with you."

The tight grip Luke'd had on the strap of his bag loosened as his muscles relaxed, and he felt his mouth fall open slightly. "That's... that's actually really nice of you," he admitted, his voice sounding guilty yet strangely warm. Then he hit Michael of the arm softly, an idea striking him. "Hey, why don't we just make homework together? I could help you with Math and you could help me with Biology," he offered, making his way over the grassy school grounds.

Michael followed, but rubbed his arm, unsure. "I don't know..." Upon seeing Luke's pleading gaze, he laughed. "Okay, fine. But only if we're _actually_ going to do some revising. I need to pass this test or I'll lose my guardian angel."

Luke chuckled and had to keep himself from skipping as he started walking again. "Great!"

All of a sudden he took Michael by the arm and pulled him sideways, changing directions. Michael looked at him with his brows furrowed. Luke pointed to the left, and said, "Sprinkler."

Michael omitted an involuntarily impressed noise. "You know what," he said, looking at Luke, eyes bright, "I think it's time you meet my aunt."

~

Luke stood on Michael's porch for the second time with nerves fluttering in his stomach, but this time, Michael wasn't the cause. He felt silly for ever being afraid of Michael in the first place; the merman had done everything to look out for him, which was more than Luke had done himself. It settled his nerves a little, knowing that Michael wouldn't have invited him if it was dangerous.

He pressed his fingers down on the door bell, a clear ringing sounding from behind the door. Within a few seconds, the turquoise haired boy opened the door, welcoming him inside. He was relieved that it was Michael opening the door and not Serena. He'd already prepared to put up a fight with Michael's aunt if she wouldn't let him in.

Michael led him through the hall towards the living room once more, and Luke noted that maybe the little paintings weren't as bad as he'd thought. Opening the door, Michael peeked his head inside first, "Hey Serena, Luke is here, as I told you."

He opened the door further and placed a hand on Luke's shoulder to guide him inside. Luke clutched to his bag's shoulder strap and stepped inside the room. The sound of chair legs scraping over the hard floor reached Luke's ears before he spotted Michael's aunt.

She stood up and swiftly made her way over to stand in front of them, she wasn't even that much shorter than Luke. She had a slim figure and a long neck that was brushed by the tips of her chestnut bob line. Her face was smooth, the only lines in her skin being the frown on her forehead, but her eyes were old—though not tired, wary at most.

Serena sized him up, her gaze slowly dragging from his toes to his face. "Uhm, h-hi," Luke stammered, "I'm Luke." The hairs in his neck stood up straight. His eyes flicked nervously to Michael, who was standing next to him with his hands in his pockets and his shoulder slumped against the door frame. As soon as Michael noticed Luke staring, he gifted him an unconcerned smile, decreasing some of the queasiness that twisted Luke's gut.

"Serena," a clear voice said, making Luke's head snap in the direction of its speaker. Serena was still watching him closely, her eyes narrowed. He could see why people believed she was Michael's aunt: they had the same piercing green eyes; and yet Michael's were different, softer somehow, not as heavy.

"I know, Michael has mentioned you," Luke replied, forcing himself to smile.

Her eyebrows shot up, "Really? Is there anything else he's mentioned?"

Luke could feel Michael's eyes on him, and he tried his best to keep his voice stable. "Is there anything else he should have mentioned?" Luke said, forcing an airy chuckle from his lungs. "I know he likes Nutella, and dyeing his hair, and playing guitar—" He snapped his mouth shut when he realised Michael had never actually told him that — Luke had figured it out by accident, and his surmise was now confirmed by Michael straightening his back and giving him a confused look.

Serena didn't seem to notice —or care—, her gaze had yet to leave Luke's face. He had no doubt that by now, she'd noticed and memorized everyone single pore and pimple on his imperfect teenage skin.

"—and he's horrible at Math," Luke finished, realising Michael and him weren't supposed to be friends. He needed to win her over. "I'm here to help him with his homework assignments, my mom being a Math teacher and all..."

Serena tilted her head slightly and looked at Michael, though her words were directed at Luke. "Your mother?"

Luke tried to keep the smugness from his face, "Yeah, Mrs. Hemmings. I think she taught Michael in his first year?"

Serena's mouth formed a small o, and the muscles in her neck softened. "Well, better get on with it then, I suppose," she said, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Good idea! After all, I didn't come here to chat — though it was nice to meet you, Serena." 

"Come on, let's go to my room," Michael said, tugging at the fabric on Luke's back. He waved at his aunt and turned around, extending a hand backwards for Luke to take. On second thought, he dropped his arm and let it hang at his side while he looked back nervously. "Close the door behind you, would you?" he said, addressing Luke.

With a polite smile in Serena's direction, Luke gripped the handle and pulled the door shut with a soft click, hoping Serena hadn't seen the twitching of his mouth.

Taking deep breaths, he followed Michael up a spiral staircase covered in grey carpet that felt soft underneath his feet. "So, that was my aunt," Michael said, jumping lightly to skip the last step.

"She's... intimidating."

The hall upstairs was much like the downstairs one — except that there was no art lining the walls, instead, they were covered in pastel coloured wallpaper. Windows lined the right wall while the left had three doors in it. A big wooden chest made out of a heavy looking, dark wood, stood at the very end of the hall.

Michael chuckled, opening the first door and holding it for Luke. "You think so?" he asked, his eyes following as Luke passed him by and made his way into the bedroom.

"Yeah," Luke breathed out. "I don't know, she's so... unsettling." He took in his surroundings curiously; there was a bed big enough for three Michaels to fit in, its head against the right hand wall, a small wardrobe made out of a light wood stood against the wall left from the door, immediately followed by an extremely tidy desk that was in big contrast to all the clothes and papers spread around on the floor.

Closing the door behind him, Michael shrugged and tilted his head, "She's always on the look out for me, she's very careful."

Luke tried not to step on anything as he made his way over to the desk to sit on the chair in front of it, "I get that, but still..."

"Still what?" Michael said, sitting down on the New York skyline of his bed covers.

"She doesn't like me much," Luke muttered, staring down at his hands as he picked at the fabric of his jeans. Michael's hearty laugh made him look up. "What?"

Michael, who had flopped down onto his back with his arms and legs fanned out, lifted his head to look at Luke. "Nobody likes you much," he said dryly.

"Well then, joke's on you because you're the one who actually hangs out with me," he said, his voice smaller than he intended. "Let's just start with homework, shall we? How far along are you?"

Huffing, Michael let it go and stood up, making the bead springs creak. He grabbed his school bag and sat down on the floor with his back against the frame of his bed, shoving some clothing underneath it. "Here," Michael said, placing his finger upon the page of the book he'd placed in his lap.

Sighing, Luke made his way over and pushed aside the controller, pillow, and dirty socks that prevented him from sitting down. "All right, where'd you get stuck?"

After a while of Michael trying to explain what exactly it was that he didn't understand —he wasn't quite sure himself—, accompanied with frustrated hand gestures, and Luke patiently explaining everything from the beginning, Michael was bent over his book, pen moving over the paper, and the tip of his tongue sticking out from in between his lips. Luke couldn't help but stare. He loved Michael's profile; it was soft yet robust, and a few hairs had already made their way through the skin on his jaw. When Michael was concentrated and thinking hard, his brow furrowed and every now and then his nose would twitch, and it made Luke laugh softly.

He looked away and swallowed, rubbing the side of his face. "Can I use the bathroom?"

Michael looked up, mildly annoyed that he'd been disturbed during his rare moments of concentration, "Of course."

"I mean—where is it?" Luke clarified, suppressing a smile.

"Oh, downstairs. It's the door you pretty much walk into once you come down the stairs."

As Michael focused on his work again, Luke stood up and stretched out his limbs before making his way down the stairs. He had barely lifted his foot from the last step or the door to the living room opened, and Serena's slender figure entered the hall. "How's it coming along?" she asked, closing the door behind her.

"All right," Luke nodded, "He's doing some exercises now, I think he's coming along okay."

"Good, good," Serena hummed, "Of course, there's a lot to catch up on."

Despite himself, Luke chuckled. "Well, yeah, that's what you get if you don't pay attention for the first years of your education."

Serena's face became void of any emotion, her smile washing away. "That's not what I meant."

Hesitantly, Luke put his hand on the handle of the bathroom door, ready to pull it open and lock it behind him if he needed to. "What do you mean, then?"

"You've seen him at school for years, you know he doesn't have any friends, right?" Luke's grip on the handle tightened, his knuckles turning white. She sounded exactly like Michael had in the beginning, and Luke was starting to wonder if they were ever really Michael's words in the first place. "Have you never stopped to wonder why that is?"

No matter how hard he tried, Luke couldn't bring his lips to smile. "Not really, no. I just help him with homework," he said, his voice strained. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to pee."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray! I know it took longer than I said it would, but again, the chapter just kept on growing and I didn't want to cut it up into two parts like I did with the previous chapters. I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Again, thanks to everyone who's left feedback in the form of kudos or even comments, it means a lot, you guys make my day!
> 
> Come talk to me about 5sos and mermaid on [my Tumblr](http://cliffordiste.tumblr.com/) (:


	13. Door

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this took longer than I said it would. AGAIN. I'm so sorry!  
> A massive thanks for sticking with me and giving me feedback, I love all of you ♥

Luke leaned over the shopping cart, eyes wandering over its contents. It wasn't much; only a bottle of curry seasoning and chicken filets packed in plastic, which gave Luke a vague idea of the direction dinner was going to go.

Behind him, Calum and Michael remained standing against a few crates, absentmindedly watching Liz as she opened one of the freezer doors to grab a package of potato gratins. Michael was telling Calum about the first time he'd played FIFA and didn't know the sides swapped at half time, so he'd spent the first minutes of the second half trying to score in his own goal. Laughter rose from Calum's chest and Luke smiled to himself, peeking at his friends over his shoulder. He already had a feeling that this family dinner would be better than the last, much better.

He turned the cart around and made his way over, one of his feet on the bar between the cart's wheels, the other stepping on the floor.

"Everyone knows there's a change of halves during the break! It's basic football knowledge," Calum was telling Michael, wiping at his eyes.

Michael shrugged. "I didn't know," he said, smiling shyly.

Liz appeared at Calum's side. "All right, boys," she said in a low voice, leaning in as if she were about to share some top secret information. "I need rice and creme fraiche, think you could find that for me?"

Calum straightened his back and saluted. "Yes, ma'am."

Luke laughed and shook his head. "I don't even know what creme fraiche is!"

"I'll get the creme fraiche!" Calum said before sprinting off and disappearing into one of the aisles. Michael watched him go, his lips twitching with the force of a suppressed smile.

Luke took him by the hand, "Come on, or we'll never beat him!", and dragged him along the path in the middle, whipping his head around to read the few signs he could find hanging from the ceiling. They weren't very helpful; none of them read "rice".

"Maybe we should split up," Michael suggested.

Luke jutted his bottom lip outwards, "If you don't want to hang out with me, you can just say it to my face, you know."

"Hey, do you want to beat Calum or not? If we split up, we'll be faster."

"Good point," Luke said, letting go of Michael's hand and nodding solemnly.

When he walked past the green aisle, a certain vegetable caught his eye. He picked it up and called, "Michael, look!" He held it up in air for Michael to see. "It's a  _cal_ iflower!"

Michael, who had been looking at stacks of pasta, looked up and tried not to laugh, but he couldn't help the amusement softening his face—though it was mostly a result of Luke's satisfied smirk rather than his sense of humour—.

Luke's grin grew as he caught a glimpse of Calum, who had just appeared out of one of the aisles and promptly turned around on his heels, making Michael burst out into laughter, "You have a terrible sense of humour."

"Oh please, you love it."

Michael couldn't deny that, so he just shrugged.

"Maybe we could go find that rice together after all—if Calum's empty hands were any indication, he knows this supermarket as well as we do," Luke offered.

There were more different kinds of rice than Luke would ever have guessed and, when they'd finally found the right shelf, he had no clue which one his mother needed for dinner. He should've asked before rushing off.

His finger trailed over the many boxes with different sizes, colours and brands. How was he supposed to choose?

He looked up at Michael, who stood next to him with his arms loosely crossed and his foot tapping on the floor, and shot him a desperate glare.

"Hey, I already found the right aisle, you're getting the responsibility of choosing," Michael said, raising his hands in the air, a certain smugness in his eyes.

Luke bowed his head, sighing, and looked back at the shelf, grabbing one of the cardboard packages.

"How do you know it's that one?" Michael asked, frowning.

Luke shrugged, " _Basmati rice._.. it sounded fun?"

Shaking his head, Michael snorted, and turned Luke around by the shoulder, pushing him forward. "Let's go find your mom," he said, unable to keep the amusement out of his voice.

As Luke made his way back, keeping an eye open for his mother, Michael lingered behind him and started to absentmindedly hum along with the familiar melody on the radio.

Without even thinking about it, Luke joined in, singing softly. " _You think I'm funny, when I tell the punch line wrong..._ "

Surprised, Michael raised his head and changed from humming to singing actual words, a small smile playing on his lips.

A few seconds later, Calum ran into them at full speed—it came as no surprise; his voice had given him away long before he so much as rounded the corner, singing along at the top of his lungs. Luke had no doubt Calum'd raced off to find them as soon as the first crackling chord sounded from the old supermarket speakers. Calum loved Katy Perry.

Calum wriggled himself in between the two others and swung his arms around their shoulders, pressing them into his sides.

Luke laughed at Calum's attempts to keep from skipping. Recognising one of his neighbours, Luke smiled at her and waved enthusiastically.

"Boys, boys!" Liz's voice sounded before she appeared, pushing her shopping cart in front of her. "As beautiful as your harmonies sound, I'm going to have to ask you to take them outside. Here," she said, handing Luke a few coins, "go get some ice cream. I'll see you at the parking lot when I'm done, okay?"

Grinning, Luke accepted the money eagerly with a "thanks mom!" and took off after Michael and Calum who were already making their way to the exit.

He could just hear his mother laughing and saying, "This is why I usually don't take them with me."

The warm, heavy air that hit his face was in big contrast to the cool breeze of the AC inside the shop. Luke shrugged off his jacket and bound it around his waist. Lingering a few meters behind, he followed Calum and Michael to the ice cream truck on the other side of the parking lot, already making up his mind about what he was getting.

Michael stood staring at the large variety of coloured containers filled with different flavours, sucking his lips into his mouth. "Choosing which Ben&Jerry's you want is a lot easier than this," he mumbled.

"True," Luke agreed, "but more flavours is more better. Real Italian ice cream comes in many flavours—and it's so good!"

Michael sighed, "I just don't know where to start."

"All right. Fresh or sweet?"

"Sweet."

"Sea salt caramel," Luke and Calum said in unison. They didn't even seem to notice, and Michael wasn't surprised, smiling at the ice cream lady who raised their eyebrows at them. She didn't look older than twenty five, her pale skin flawless and blue make up lining her eyes.

Pressing his finger against the glass above the container, Luke added, "It's heaven, believe me; I once had so much I was sick for two days."

Michael laughed and agreed to his first scoop, getting chocolate chip cookie as his second. Calum settled for strawberry yoghurt and apple cinnamon, and Luke ordered himself brownie ice cream and mint chocolate. He handed a few coins to the lady and took his cone from her hands, thanking her before spinning around and jogging up to his friends.

The three of them found a spot on a curb next to a small maintenance building, sheltered from the searing heat of the sun. Calum omitted a content sigh into the atmosphere and stretched out his legs in front of him, leaning back on an elbow and licking at his cone.

As Michael started on his ice cream, a small moan left his lips. "Holy shit, this is so good," he murmured in between licks, his eyes slipping shut.

Luke felt the corners of his mouth twitch, and he pried his eyes away from Michael to lick his ice cream in the most scandalous way he could think of, letting out moans and strings of sweet words. From the corner of his eye, he could see Calum excessively roll his eyes, and Michael snickering to himself—though his eyes were fixated on the spectacle Luke was acting out. Michael's lips were slightly wet, and Luke found himself back in time when he'd been kissed by them. It was stupid, it had barely been a second, it didn't even count.

He made the mistake of looking up, and met Michael's gaze, holding it for longer than he intended. A shiver ran down his spine, and he felt his nerve endings prickle, the air being knocked out of lungs.

A smacking sound pried Luke out of his trance, and he looked to his side to find Calum making out with his cone, too.

"What?" Calum said, blinking innocently. " _Someone_  needs to show you how it's done so you don't embarrass yourself in front of your crush."

Luke smacked him on the back of his head.

"Ow!" Calum massaged the sore spot through his hair, but his smile was satisfied as he raised his chin triumphantly.

When they walked back past the ice cream truck, a vaguely familiar voice called out, "Young man! Yes, you." It was the ice cream lady, waving Luke over with a slender hand, "I've still got your change, you were gone so fast I wasn't able to give it to you before," she said, chuckling to herself.

"Oh!" Luke said, pleasantly surprised. He held up his hand to catch the coins in his palm. "Thank you so much! It was delicious, by the way. As always," he added, pocketing the money.

"I know," the ice cream lady said, "I used to see you every Saturday during the Summer; you'd tug on your mother's hand and point, and your mom would always pretend she wasn't going to let you have any so you would promise to clean your room or do the dishes for her later that day. You were always too focused on your cone to notice the smug smile she gave me."

"She did that?" Luke gaped. "I never knew she was so manipulative," he said, laughing softly. "That must've been years ago."

"It was. But I remember," she said with a smile, eyes sparkly. "Who's the blue haired punk, then? I don't remember seeing him around."

Luke's lips twitched. "He's a new friend. And the blue isn't natural," he said with a smirk—although to him, the turquoise might as well have been Michael's natural colour. He had seen Michael's hair in every colour he could think of, but he had only known Michael with the current one.

"Well, better go catch up then; it seems your old friend  _and_  your new friend are taking off without you."

Luke whipped his head around to find that she was right; Michael and Calum had strutted on without him. "I will, thank you. Have a nice day!" he said quickly, giving her a wave before taking off.

Squinting against the sun, he located Michael and Calum at the shopping cart storage, waving for him to come over.

Luke jogged up to them, and Calum lifted his hand with the palm up. "Please pledge," he said with a pout.

Luke tilted his head "What's the cause?"

Calum pulled at the shopping cart behind him, making the metal rattle, "Racing! For poor musicians who can't afford proper cars."

"Oh! Well, in that case, let me see if I have any change on me..." Luke said, burying his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Ah, there you go; one for the poor musician and one for his weird friend," he said, placing one coin in the palm of Michael's hand and handing the other to Calum.

Calum shook his head at him, "Luke, we all know Michael doesn't even come close to you when it comes to being weird."

Luke grinned and exchanged a look with Michael. "Who said you were the musician, Cal?"

A second passed before Calum's mouth formed a small  _o_ and his brows knitted together. "Hey, not fair!"

"Nothing in life is fair, Cal," Michael sighed, voice dripping with fake desperation.

Calum's face fell a little. "But there's only enough for two carts," he said, his bottom lip jutted out. Michael bumped the corner of one of the carts against Calum's butt, making him jump aside.

"No worries," Michael said calmly. "I've got this!" His gaze landed on Luke, and his green eyes gleamed dangerously.

When Luke caught up on Michael's plan, it was already too late; Michael was charging at him enthusiastically, and Luke turned to run, but the cart already caught up, slamming into his legs and making him lose balance. He pressed his eyes shut as his body tumbled backwards, his feet lifting from the ground. The cold metal dug into his back, and he whined at the speed with which Michael was wheeling him around the parking lot.

Luke craned his neck to look at him; Michael's eyes were bright and the tip of his tongue peeked out from between his lips, his turquoise hair sticking to his forehead. Aware of Luke's staring, Michael met his eyes and smiled wildly at him. Luke smiled back.

He sat up and adjusted himself so he sat more or less comfortably. The sound of rattling metal and wheels scrubbing against concrete filled his ears, and he clung to the sides of the cart.

"Are you having fun?" Michael yelled over the noise.

Luke had barely nodded when the cart suddenly made a sharp turn, pressing him against the side. Michael hooted. "Are you ready?!"

Incredulous, Luke looked back at Michael. "Ready for what?" he asked, voice tight.

The only reply he got was a smirk, and Luke turned to face forwards, clutching to the cart's sides as he screamed his lungs out, knuckles turning white.

After Michael had lost to Calum—twice—, Luke jumped out of the cart to take his revenge, grumbling something about how even  _he_  was in better shape than Michael. Michael shrugged, and had just hoisted himself up into the cart when the air around them grew cold. Heavy clouds filled up the sky, blocking out the sun, and Luke could smell the rain in the air.

"Get out," he said, his voice commanding as he held out a hand. Michael took it and let himself be pulled to his feet.

Luke removed the jacket from his hips and flung it over Michael's head and shoulders, dragging him by his hand to the shopping cart storage. A few cool drops landed on his skin, and a breeze tugged at his hair. Calum followed suit.

A heartbeat after they'd reached the stall, rain started to pour. Drop after drop hammered down on the plastic roof and the concrete, and Michael anxiously pulled Luke's jacket tighter around his shoulders.

"It's all right, we made it," Luke offered, placing a hand on Michael's shoulder and squeezing lightly.

Calum frowned, taking off his zipped hoodie and offering it to Michael all the same, "I can't believe you two anointed _me_ as the weird friend."

Lifting his gaze from the concrete, Michael looked at Calum, taking the hoodie with a meek smile. "Thanks," he said as he flung Calum's jacket over his legs.

Luke shivered and rubbed his hands over his arms in an attempt to get warm. He had no idea how Calum was able to just stand there without so much as a goosebump on his skin. Noticing Luke's sharp intake of breath, Michael extended an arm sideways. Gratefully, Luke shuffled over towards Michael and buried his shoulder in Michael's arm pit, letting Michael's hand grip his other shoulder.

Michael laughed upon seeing Calum's miserable expression, and extended his other arm as well. Calum's face lit up like a light house and he sat down, letting Michael wrap his arm around his back.

Planting his cheek against Michael's collar bone, Luke waited for his mom to come leave the supermarket. They watched the shoppers clog the entrance—no one really wanted to exchange the building for the pouring rain, and a gush of wind blew in from the side, causing their hair to dance in the wind. Michael pulled the jacket over his face quickly, shielding it from moisture, but a single drop landed on his hand.

By the time Michael noticed, Luke had already wiped it off with the hem of him shirt.

"You're welcome," Luke said, smiling lightly.

When the rain ceased, the sliding doors opened and Liz emerged, pushing her cart. She'd placed her coat over her groceries so they wouldn't get wet, and was making her way over to the car when she noticed them sitting on the floor.

"Lucas Robert Hemmings! If you don't come with a brilliant reason as to why you're out here in the rain without your jacket, I'll be forced to exile you from family dinner," Liz said as soon as she noticed the three boys huddling together, her voice mockingly stern.

 Of course, she wasn't nearly as serious as she pretended to be. Dinner proceeded as planned, and the curry chicken she made fell in good taste with the guests and family members alike—the general satisfaction being portrayed mostly by Jack continuously making smacking noises while he chewed. Luke was used to it—as was the rest of his family—but Michael curled his nose, hesitantly playing around with the food on his plate where he had been enjoying the curry only a minute before.

Luke cleared his throat loudly and glared at Jack, "Not everyone likes your animal-like dinner behaviour, Jack."

Jack chewed one more time, frowning as he looked at the others' faces. He swallowed slowly. "Sorry," he murmured, his eyes lingering on the turquoise haired boy.

"It's fine," Michael said, though he had just given Luke a grateful nod. "It's just a thing for me, sorry. You couldn't have known."

"No worries. Next time, feel free to let me know. I'd hate to make anyone but Luke feel uncomfortable," Jack said, a lopsided smirk on his face.

"You're a dick," Luke said coolly.

Jack just shrugged, and Ben rolled his eyes, "Don't take the bait, Luke."

"Stop mothering him. That's my job, Ben," Liz interjected, not unkind. "And I think I'm doing it just fine," she added with a wink in Luke's direction.

Luke smiled at her, and put down his fork. Now seemed as good a time as any to make the announcement; Jack had taken to silently stuffing as much food in his mouth as possible, Andy had already eaten everything off of his plate, and Michael sat next to him but was leaning to the other side, conversing with Ben in soft tones.

Luke rubbed his fingers absentmindedly on the fabric of his jeans as he glanced sideways at Calum, raising his eyebrows. Calum caught his eye and nodded, a little smile playing on his lips.

Standing up, Luke cleared his throat, effectively gaining everyone's attention. "There's a reason I invited Calum over for dinner," he started, feeling a bit silly about the serious gesture.

"It's because I'm your best friend, you dick," Calum murmured unhappily, making Jack laugh and almost choke on his food.

"Yeah, okay. That too. Anyway, there is a very specific reason Calum is here tonight. And that reason," Luke said, pausing for effect, "is that we've got an exact date for our first gig at Paradise!"

Jack was already cheering before Luke had finished his sentence. He threw his hands up in the air, "The first step on the road to rockstardom!"

"It's just an acoustic show, Jack," Ben argued, though his eyes were fond. As were the rest of Luke's family's, he noticed, looking at him with beaming smiles.

A warmth spread throughout Luke's chest. "And you're all invited to come," he said, unable to stop his gaze from flicking to Michael, who had a childlike smile on his face.

"Try and keep me away," Ben said, grinning from ear to ear. His face grew pale, small wrinkles folding on his forehead. "It's not somewhere midweek, is it?"

"No, it's Friday. You're good," Calum hastened to say.

The corners of Michael's mouth sagged. "This Friday?"

"Yup, Calum and I will be practicing as much we can these coming da—" Luke broke off his enthusiastic rant when he saw the look on Michael's face. "Oh," he said softly, his shoulder slumping against his will. He sat down and tried to smile, "It's okay if you can't come. I guessed as much, but I thought I'd extend the invitation to you anyway."

The clatter of forks and knives against porcelain filled the room, and next to him, Calum held his breath. Luke knew he wore his heart on his sleeve, and he hated it. 

A warm finger prodded at Luke's cheek but he didn't look up until Michael spoke. "Hey, don't worry, I'll be there," he said, voice determined.

Luke felt the knot in his stomach begin to unfold, and he brushed Michael's hand away from his face.  "Yeah?"

"Yeah, of course."

Luke chewed on his bottom lip, "You don't have to, though. If you have any other plans—"

"No, Luke, it's fine," Michael said, shaking his head. "I wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to ruin another one of your family moments, right?" He raised an eyebrow at Jack.

"Thanks," he said, feeling his cheeks starting to burn. He looked at Michael's hand that had landed on his knee, just below the edge of the table cloth. He brought the tips of his fingers to rest against Michael's palm.

"Cool!" Calum chimed, unable to stop from grinning. "Mali and my parents are coming as well."

Andy elicited a relieved sigh, "At least I won't be the only one who doesn't know a single one of the songs."

"Don't get too excited, my parents are very educated on my taste in music—unwillingly, surely, but still."

Liz laughed, "I don't doubt it. Now you mention it, how is Mali doing? Is she passing her year?"

"Oh, I think so, yeah. She's in the middle of exams and deadlines, but she's loving it," Calum said, beaming. "She's trying to convince me to study at a music academy too, but I got an offer for a football scholarship as well. It's a tough decision to make."

"Yeah, must be a damn tough decision to decide which way you want become famous," Jack grumbled, his voice carried by sarcasm. "Do I start a band or do I become a professional football player? Jeez, life is so hard!"

Calum kicked Jack's shin under the table, and Luke grinned, exchanging a look with Ben.

"At least you still have a year to decide, right?" Liz said, smiling softly at Calum.

"Yeah," Calum said, his eyes omitting a shy, warm light. "A lot can happen in one year."

In his heart, Luke silently agreed.


	14. Beam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello people, here's another update for you! It's short but I felt like I owed you one for making you wait so long for the last chapter. Thanks so much for sticking with me and thank you all for your lovely feedback, it makes my day *kisses your forehead*.
> 
> I'd also like to take this chance to shamelessly promote the werewolf AU my friend Carly put her heart and soul into and recently finished. Great job, love! If you haven't read it yet, you should absolutely [click here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4906804/chapters/11255845).
> 
> Without further ado, please enjoy this chapter (:

**You** : wanna go somewhere? [0:13 AM]  
**Mikey** : are u crazy? its past midnight [0:14 AM]  
**You** : i know, thats why its ideal [0:14 AM]  
**You** : pick u up in twenty? [0:15 AM]  
**Mikey** : pffff fine [0:15 AM]  
**Mikey** : but be quiet [0:15 AM]

Luke scurried down the driveway and made his way up to the garage roof by climbing the drainpipe—just like Michael had taught him earlier that week. He tiptoed towards the window he knew belonged to Michael's room. He softly knocked against the window and waited for Michael to open it, feeling his heart thrum in his ears. The window opened, the noise making Luke jump.

"You're crazy," Michael hissed before climbing out the window and stepping onto the roof. "If my PC gets stolen tonight because if you, I expect you'll get me a new one before the week is over."

A grin crept onto Luke's face. "Let's go," he said, already making his way down. Down from the grass he looked on in astonishment as Michael jumped off the roof and landed noiselessly with an agile roll. " _Someone_ 's done this before," he muttered.

"Learned that one from Assassin's Creed," Michael said, beaming proudly.

Luke shook his head, laughing softly, and grabbed Michael by the arm. "Come on."

Michael followed, sneaking through the garden until they reached the street. "So, where are we going?" he asked, looking at Luke curiously. Even in the dark, he could see the mischievous sparkle in Luke's eyes.

"It's a surprise." Luke took his hand and started running.

When they were three streets away from their destination, Michael recognised the direction they were headed. "The beach? Are you joking?"

"No, it's perfect. There's nobody here around this time of day. You can finally swim freely without getting worried about being caught!"

Michael sighed but protested no further. When they reached the beach and set foot in the cool sand, he said, "What will you do—just keep watch along the waterline?"

"That's the best part," Luke said, a lopsided grin plastered onto his face. He made his way over to one of the garbage dumpsters and snatched a plastic bag from inside.

Michael got the feeling that he didn't want to know what that 'best part' was. "If you're going to be rummaging around in the trash like a homeless person, I think I'd rather you keep that to yourself," Michael said, scrunching up his nose and averting his eyes.

Laughing, Luke closed the lid and untied the bag's knot. "A certain brother with loose lips owed me one, so I decided to cash in." He said, fishing out something black and smooth, and held it up in front of him for Michael to see.

"A diving suit!" Michael said, eyes going wide.

"I figured that swimming together would be more fun than going alone," he said, a stupid smile on his face as he swung the suit over his arm.

Michael shook his head, eyes cast on the floor. He took Luke's hand loosely in both of his' and looked him in the eye, "You, sir, are my favourite garbage man ever."

~

Water was pulling at his hair and oxygen tank, and Luke dug his fingers into the skin of Michael's stomach. He was pressed against the merman's back, his legs dangling behind him and his cheek resting against Michael's shoulder blades. He watched the ocean rush by in a blur of blue and black, and he marveled at the speed at which they were going; he had no idea that Michael was capable of swimming so fast.

It cost him a great deal of strength to bring his head up against the current and rest his chin on Michael's left shoulder. Grinning, Michael met his eyes before fastening the pace even further. The water beat against Luke's face and the diving glasses were almost ripped from his head; if he could've screamed, he would definitely have done so in exhilaration.

Sadly, Luke only had a small tank of oxygen and it was over sooner than he would've liked. "That. was. _incredible_!" Luke panted as he lay in the surf, small waves breaking against the fabric of his suit.

Michael let the water carry him to shore and he drifted up to Luke on a dying wave. Laughing, he lay next to Luke, his stomach scrubbing over the sand. "That was fun, though I would hardly use the word incredible to describe it."

"You mean you can go even faster than this?" Luke asked, an incredulous expression on his face.

"Of course," Michael said, shrugging his shoulders, "you slowed me down."

Luke shook his head. "Unbelievable."

"What? It's true! You have all these weird humps and lumps, it's a surprise you humans found a way to swim at all."

Luke huffed indignantly but laughed when he saw the grin on Michael's face. "I wish it lasted longer than this shitty little oxygen tank," he sighed wistfully.

"Well, then you'd have to become a mermaid."

"Deal!"

Michael chuckled, his eyes glittering in the light of the full moon. "I'm sorry, I don't possess the magic to do that," he admitted sheepishly.

"It's okay, you have magic of a different kind," Luke offered, his eyes avoiding Michael's gaze.

Michael ducked his head, his face tingeing a deep pink. "Thanks," he muttered.

"You're welcome." Luke traced figures in the clay beneath the waves, letting the sand suck around his fingers and flowing back into place.

The sea nudged Michael's tail sideways in Luke's direction, and Michael let it happen. Luke watched as the scales glittered in the moon light, and inched closer so his shoulder touched Michael's. He turned around to face the sky, a cool breeze hitting his face. Michael followed his lead, his tail splashing as it broke the surface.

"That there is the is the Pegasus constellation," Luke said, pointing towards a specific star cluster.

"Which one?"

"There, the bright square with the E-shape attached to it."

Michael frowned and squinted his eyes. "It doesn't look like a Pegasus to me..."

"That's because it's upside down, dummy. Its supposed to be the front half only, you should look it up, its easier to see if you flip the image."

As Michael glanced sideways, a fond smile played on his lips. "I didn't know you did star gazing," he mused.

"I don't, but I've been to enough summer camps and lived through enough campfires to pick up a few details," he said, eyes flicking over the silver dots penetrating the dark of the night sky. Hyperaware of Michael's eyes lingering on his face, Luke tried to focus on his breathing in the hope his heart would stop hammering against his ribs so violently. "That there is Andromeda," he said at last, feeling Michael's gaze leave his face. "The crooked V-shaped one, there."

"Andromeda?" Michael echoed.

"Hmhm," Luke said, nodding. "She shares a star with Pegasus."

"How romantic."

Luke laughed. "Maybe that's where centaurs were brought into life."

"Who knows," Michael mumbled, almost inaudibly. "In the sea we have stories about Andromeda. Her mother, the queen, claimed that her daughter was more beautiful than all of the magical sea creatures, so the merfolk complained to our king and demanded for him to go to war with Andromeda's lands. He sent a terrible monster to destroy the land Andromeda's parents ruled over, and eventually, the people threw her in the sea to put an end to disaster. Some say the monster is still chained up somewhere, should we ever need it again."

"I don't believe it."

Michael laughed. "Neither do I, but hey, I was just retelling the story."

Luke didn't have the heart to tell him he wasn't talking about the monster's existence.

Wave after wave crashed over them, Michael's tail blocking the water to keep it out of Luke's face.

Luke's hand was so close to Michael's that their pinkies brushed against one another, and he was hyperaware of the twitchy movements in his fingers. He wondered if Michael felt it, too.

How much had his view on Michael changed in the past few weeks? Luke didn't know, exactly, but he knew it was a lot. He could barely recall the days when they didn't know each other, when Michael was just another random name belonging to some kid at school he didn't care for.

"You missed it, didn't you?" Luke asked eventually.

A frown furrowed Michael's brow as he tilted his face to look at Luke, "What do you mean?"

"I've never seen you so happy," Luke said, smiling sadly. He tilted his head to look at Michael; Michael's face was soft but there was a sadness that reached beyond the green of his eyes. "I'll take you more often, okay?" he promised, curling his little finger around Michael's.


	15. Trouble pt. I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING! If you are uncomfortable with choking and/or anything similar, read with caution or come talk to me before reading. Stay safe, stay comfortable.
> 
> On another note, this chapter goes out to my lovely friend [Trinity](http://lukeybee.tumblr.com/) who celebrates her birthday today. Thanks so much for your support and friendship, you mean the world!

Luke let out a shaky breath as he fingered the hem of his shirt; it was a black tee with the Nirvana smiley up front, he cut the sleeves off by hand. He loved this shirt, but it did nothing to ease his nerves. "Do I look like I'm trying too hard?" he asked Calum, meeting his gaze in the mirror.

He couldn't believe this was actually happening. Sure, he'd played in front of people before, but never for so many—and never on an actual stage. A few years ago, Luke'd been asked to join the church band but he'd declined; back then he wasn't quite as comfortable with his voice as he was now.

His looks were a different story, though. He wanted to look nice but not like he made too much of an effort—because what if no one showed up? His family and friends would see how much he cared, and he despised being pitied. He just didn't want to disappoint anyone.

Calum pushed himself off of the wall he had been leaning against, "Trying too hard to what?"

"To look cool."

Calum opened his mouth to speak but a voice from behind him beat him to it. "Don't worry, you're nowhere near cool," Jack said, entering the room.

Luke jutted out his bottom lip.

"And who invited _you_  backstage?" Calum demanded upon seeing Luke's pout. "The show starts in five minutes, go find yourself a seat before the good ones are gone."

Jack shrugged, "Nah, I know what you look like up close, I'm leaving the front row seats for others to enjoy. I already spotted at least two girls who will definitely be swooning over you."

Ashton snorted from where he stood eating a salmon sandwich at the kitchen counter.

Calum crossed his arms and scowled at Luke's brother. It had been no more than ten minutes since they'd last seen Jack in the front room.

Raising his hands, Jack said, "All right, all right. I just wanted to wish my little brother good luck before the show. I'll leave if you makes you happy." He gave Luke a quick hug—his shoulder nearly knocking the snapback off of Luke's head—before making his way over to the door. "Good luck, guys!" he called, closing the door behind him.

"Bye, Jack!" Luke said, readjusting his snapback and hair.

"Your brother's an idiot," Calum whined, glaring at the closed door. He liked Luke's brother well enough, but Luke didn't need Jack to fuel his nerves right now—even though Jack obviously meant well.

Calum turned around, heaved a sigh, and grabbed Luke softly by the shoulders, "Don't worry, Hemmo. You look great."

"I second that!" Ashton called.

"I don't. You look awful, as always," Michael chimed in from the sofa's arm rest, dangling his feet and giving Luke an almost invisible wink.

Luke's shoulders relaxed. "Thanks," he muttered before sitting down next to Michael on the worn leather.

He watched as Ashton made something to drink at the tiny counter in the back corner, next to the red door that led upstairs to Ashton's apartment.

"Here, it's chamomile tea, should help against the nerves. I added a little honey to soothe your throat," Ashton said, handing the performers both a mug of steaming liquid.

Calum took a sip and immediately scrunched up his nose, giving the mug back to Ashton, "This is gross."

Ashton gave him a stern glare and pushed the mug back into Calum's chest until Calum finally wrapped his hands around it again.

"Drink," Ashton said, his tone leaving no space to argue, "I'm going back to the front room, I don't want to leave Sarah to serve alone when there's this many people. I'll come get you in a few minutes."

A stream of chitter chatter momentarily filled the room before Ashton closed the door.

Luke enjoyed the warmth of Michael's arm resting on the sofa's back rest, close enough to make the hairs in Luke's neck stand up. He silently sipped from his tea and found that he actually enjoyed the taste, maybe he should exchange his habit of drinking too much coffee for a habit of drinking too much tea.

"I can't believe you got me a backstage pass," Michael crooned, overdoing the dreamy expression on his face.

"It's just the employees' cafeteria," Calum mumbled, staring unhappily at the mug in his hand.

Michael shot him a glare, "Don't ruin it."

"I can't believe this is actually happening, though," Luke cut in, feeling a sudden burst of excitement. His heart fluttered when Michael put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lightly, giving him a lazy smile.

Luke smiled back, and turned to Calum, "We're gonna nail it."

Calum beamed back at him, a shy blush creeping on to his face. "Yeah, we are," he agreed.

~

When Luke strung the final chord of Backseat Serenade, which they'd chosen as their first song, the nerves had already left his body. After that, it was easy and songs flowed from their fingers and tongues.

The crowd was smaller than he'd expected—at least the double amount of people present had said they'd come but never showed up. Luke didn't care; the people who mattered to him were here, even Ben stood in the back, bopping his head up and down to the music.

Apart from family, there were a few kids from school and some of Ashton's regulars. All together, they formed an easy going and warm audience.

Luke's mother was beaming proudly at him over her cup of coffee, and Mali gave him a broad smile and a thumbs up when he met her gaze.

They used to hang out with Mali more. She'd drop by Calum's room when he and Luke were playing Sniper Elite, and grab a controller without having to ask. She'd chat about things Luke had no interest in, but he liked to listen to her nonetheless. In the end she always beat them, and Calum would halfheartedly ban her from ever touching his PS3 again. Then she grew up and chased dreams bigger than video game achievements.

Luke was glad to see her personality was as vibrant as ever. She seemed a big contrast to Michael, who was seated on a stool next to her, occasionally taking a bite out of his muffin but otherwise attentive to the show.

Michael was pale, a pink haze over his cheeks, eyes a piercing green. His fingers traced patterns on the wooden table. Mali's skin was a light brown, and her eyes a warm, deep chocolate.

Mali's laughter was there for everyone to enjoy, but whenever Michael smiled, Luke felt like he'd been let in on a secret for no one else to see—which was, in a way, true, of course.

Just like her brother, Mali resembled the sun, whereas Michael... Michael was the moon. Luke was lucky to be friends with him, and whatever mermaid problems came along with it, it was worth it.

Calum coughed, hardly trying to be subtle, and Luke was pulled out of his thoughts.

Right. The next song.

With more than half the set done, Luke thought he should manage to not get lost in Michael's eyes for a few more songs.

"The next song was one of Calum's ideas," Luke announced into the microphone, balancing the guitar on his thighs easily. "He's got a special admiration for Katy P. and bribed me into doing one of her songs."

Calum shot him a mildly annoyed look as the audience laughed. Luke couldn't help but notice when Michael laughed, his eyebrows raising as his face broke into a wide mouthed grin that showed off his pointy canines and round front teeth.

"For this song, we want to ask some help from a friend of ours in the audience," Calum said.

Luke looked at Calum sideways, one of his eyebrows raised. Calum must've made a deal with Ashton behind his back, even though their first song was already a gesture towards the bartender. It would explain the extra guitar standing in the corner of the stage that Luke had thought was for decoration.

"Michael, please come on up."

Luke's blood ran cold. This was a bad idea, Michael didn't like being in the spotlight. He watched as the smile faded from Michael's face and his lips became a tight line.

"It's all right, you'll be fine," Calum said, beckoning for Michael to come on stage.

The turquoise haired boy looked around, his eyes flicking over the faces that were turned towards him. Eventually, he stood and smiled shakily as Mali nudged him forward.

Applause rose from the audience and Ashton made his way over with an extra bar stool. He placed it on Luke's other side along with the third guitar and an extra microphone.

Luke put down his guitar and offered Michael a hand to help him on stage, hoping the gesture brought some comfort. "I'm sorry, I didn't know," he whispered only for Michael to hear.

"I know," Michael said softly, waving it off. He made his way over to his stool and slid his fingers through his fringe as he let Ashton adjust the microphone for him.

Calum leaned in, an excited smile on his face and an apology in his eyes. He'd misjudged the situation. "So here's what I was thinking: we do it like Luke and I practiced except you, Michael, sing the bridge and do the back up vocals instead of me. I've come up with an extra melody to sing but don't worry about that," he said, meeting Michael's gaze, "You think you can do that?"

"I hope so," Michael said with a curt nod. Luke saw him fidgeting on the fabric of his jeans, but aside from that, he looked all right. 

"Cool! I guess we'll just start then," Calum said, patting Michael's shoulder before picking up his own guitar.

Luke followed his lead and tapped his foot while counting down. He played a few short notes and started singing, " _I think you're pretty, without any make up on._ " He loved the way people's faces lit up with recognition.

He looked over to his left to smile at Michael. " _I think you're funny, when you tell the punchline wrong_."

Michael turned his head away from the microphone, pressing his lips together. His eyes were laughing.

A lopsided smirk appeared on Luke's lips and he looked back to the audience. " _I know you got me, so I let my walls come down, down_."

Michael and Calum's guitars joined in, and from his left Luke heard Calum's slightly rawer voice. " _Before you met me, I was all right but things were kinda heavy..._ "

Luke peeked at Michael from underneath his lashes. The merboy's tongue stuck out slightly as his fingers moved over the strings effortlessly.

As the chorus started, Michael's voice joined the melodies. At first his singing was small, but by the end of the chorus he was belting the notes, and Luke almost stopped singing just so he could listen to it. He told himself he'd thank Calum later.

" _We drove to Paradise_ ," Calum sang, eyes sparkling and eyebrows raised, gaining some hoots from the crowd,  " _and got drunk on the beach_."

When the bridge came around, Michael's voice soared over the crowd. It was lower and raspier by default, yet Luke thought he sounded like he was struggling a little extra tonight. Maybe they should've let him join in their vocal warm ups.

Within a split second of looking up, he knew something was very wrong; Michael was paler than usual, almost blueish, and he was trembling, his fingers messing up the chords. Little beads of sweat slid down from his hairline to his brows, but he sang the next lines perfectly.

As goosebumps prickled on Luke's skin, he motioned for Calum to sing, hoping Calum knew the lyrics, and leaned in to Michael. "Are you okay?" he whispered, turning away from the microphone.

Michael looked at him with big, shiny eyes, almost invisibly shaking his head. 

"Go," Luke commanded, "I'll meet you at the back."

As Michael put his guitar down and made his way off the stage, stumbling slightly, Luke joined for the final chorus.

"I'm sorry guys, I'm afraid Michael's suffering a little from stage fright," he said when they finished the song, earning some chuckles from the crowd. If only they knew. "I'm gonna have to check up on him, so unless Calum wants to continue on his own, we're gonna have to cut it short. I'm really sorry."

A unanimous 'aww' arose from the crowd, the loudest one coming from Jack's lips.

Luke avoided the incredulous look on Calum's face as he passed him on his way off stage. He was stopped by tugging on his sleeve. Luke closed his eyes briefly before turning around to face Calum.

"Dude, this is our first gig!" Calum's voice was a low whisper but it knotted Luke's insides together nonetheless.

Luke hated it, it wasn't like he  _wanted_ this to happen, but Michael's safety came first. "I'm sorry, Cal. I have to see if he's all right."

"Please don't leave me," Calum whispered, fingertips digging into Luke's arm.

Luke's heart sank and nailed his feet to the wooden boards of the stage.

Suddenly a chirpy voice rolled over the crowd, "I'll play with Calum!" Ashton was making his way over to the stage.

Relief washed over Luke as the bartender put a warm hand on his shoulder before grabbing a guitar from the corner and settling down on the stool next to Calum. Luke gave Ashton a grateful nod before he climbed off the stage and ran to the back room.

Michael was alone, hunched over on the sofa. He was clutching his throat, a manic look glazing over his eyes.

Luke's heart rate seemed to speed up and stop altogether at the same time. "Shit, Michael. What's going on?" Luke knelt down, trying to catch Michael's gaze. "Is it mermaid stuff?"

Tears stained the merman's cheeks. "I can't breathe," he wheezed out, pulling at the hem of his creme sweater—even though the neckline was wide.

"What do I do? What do you need?" Luke asked, firmly gripping Michael's arms.

"Water—" Michael croaked, pressing his eyes shut, "bath, shower—anything!"

Without hesitation, Luke scooped Michael up in his arms and made his way to red door leading to Ashton's apartment on the first floor. Fortunately, the curly haired boy had left it unlocked tonight.

"Let's get you upstairs," he said, his voice steady. He didn't know where this sudden burst if strength came from but he was grateful; he definitely needed it. Pressing Michael close to his chest, he made his way up the stairs as fast as he could.

Michael's lips were turning blue and he was now starting to scratch his throat in an attempt to get air.

"Stop that! Michael, stop it!" Luke said, his voice sharp, since he had no free hands to swat at Michael's.

There were only three doors in Ashton's apartment so Luke found the bathroom easily, it was the only one that had a lock on it. He carefully laid Michael down in the bath and opened the tap before Michael could rip his own throat out. 

The water washed over Michael's side before hitting the bath, and within seconds, there was a tail hanging over the end of the tub. Maybe the blue of Michael's tail would cancel out the blue on his lips and fingertips.

Luke snatched Michael's hands away from his throat and held them down firmly. The panic in Michael's eyes sent chills down Luke's spine and he had to remind himself that Michael was not dead yet.

As the bath filled with water, Michael's hands finally relaxed in Luke's grip. His chest expanded and deflated in a steady rhythm and his arms fell to the side.

Luke released a long breath. "Holy crap, you scared the shit out of me, Mikey," he squeaked, feeling his hands start to tremble.

Unable to speak just yet, Michael met Luke's eyes.

"Don't ever do that again, okay?"

Resting his crossed arms on the tub's adge and placing his head on top, Luke watched as Michael's chest rose and fell underneath his shirt. Never before had he been so glad to see someone breathe. He dared not think about what could've happened if the water didn't work.

Without thought, Luke got up and climbed into the bath, too. Michael moved over to make room, a surprised look in his eyes as Luke wrapped his arms around Michael's waist and nestled his face in his neck.

Luke's clothes were soaked but he couldn't care less. Michael was okay and that was all that mattered.

Michael's arms were around Luke's shoulders, and Luke felt his knees bump against Michael's scales. "Don't ever do that again," he repeated.

A smile tugged at the corners of Michael's mouth. "I promise."

"So what happened?"

Michael sighed, making Luke's head bop up and down. "I couldn't—I know I was breathing but—it wasn't enough," Michael said, his voice shaky. "This is the first time the moon messes me up so bad."

"Is it new moon?" Luke asked unnecessarily.

Michael nodded, then seemed to realise something. "It must be the alignment," he muttered.

"The what?"

"When earth and Neptune align with the sun, well, shit happens. Usually not this bad, but without the moon offering any protection..."

Luke frowned. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

Michael shrugged. "It was your first gig," he said.

The muscles in Luke's face softened. Quickly, he blinked the tears away before Michael could see them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I wrote it for you guys! If you can, please let me know what you liked and didn't like, feedback doesn't only make me a better writer, it also makes my day.
> 
> PS I hope you've all noticed how I made the chapter title into a pun. I know, I'm hilarious (;


	16. Trouble pt. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are again, hooray! I'm sorry for almost killing my tiny mermaid son in the last chapter, I promise it hurt me too ):
> 
> On another note, take a look at [this](http://cliffordiste.tumblr.com/post/147051373899/excuse-my-shitty-drawing-i-dont-get-how-i-get) super adorable drawing [reveriemichael](http://reveriemichael.tumblr.com) made of merman!Michael. It's awesome!

Michael's steady breathing slowly infiltrated Luke's system, calming him down. Luke kept quiet, feeling the rise and fall of Michael's chest and listened to the faint music coming from downstairs. Even though he couldn't make out much, he was pretty sure Ashton was doing an excellent job of replacing him. Was this what Calum felt like all this time Luke'd been hanging out with Michael?

He sighed. If Calum only knew...

Pressing his eyes shut, he attempted to drown out the image of Michael clawing at his own throat—he was sure it would linger for weeks. Maybe he _should_ tell Calum, maybe they could use another confidante to prevent any future disasters like today from happening.

Eventually, the music stopped and made room for applause, causing Luke to smile; he knew it was just as much for Michael and him as it was for the boys below.

"If you'd like to add some excitement to our spa, I could throw in one of these bath bombs," Michael offered dryly.

Luke groaned, "No thanks, I've had quite enough of that for one day." He turned his head and looked at the row of bath bombs, salts and oils organised by colour in rainbow formation. He'd overlooked them earlier.

Now the adrenaline had ebbed away, he felt just how tired he was. His muscles ached and the water was cold, but he couldn't bring himself to move. Soon, his eyelids became heavy.

A door slammed and footsteps sounded on the stairs, startling Luke. He quickly detangled himself from Michael's grasp and clumsily got out of the bath, the skin of his knees scraping against Michael's scales. He ignored the stab of pain, and made his way to the door, trying not to slip on the tiles.

"Luke, Michael? Are you here?" Ashton's voice came from the living room.

Looking back at Michael in the bath, Luke opened the door just far enough to poke his head outside. "In here, Ash," he called.

"Oh, thank goodness. What happened, is he all right?" Ashton said, appearing in front of the bathroom with worried lines on his face.

"Yeah, he suddenly didn't feel too well. He's okay, now," Luke said, nodding reassuringly.

Ashton tried to get a glimpse of Michael but couldn't see past Luke. "Can I help?"

Pushing himself out into the hall, Luke closed the door behind him and touched the bartender's arm. "He's fine, Ash. Don't worry. I took care of it."

Even though Ashton was trying to be subtle as he took Luke in from head to toe, Luke felt his ears burn as a sudden wave of self consciousness washed over him. He must look strange—his clothes half wet and his knees bleeding.

He swallowed and smiled weakly at Ashton. "Could you maybe get him some food? I'm sure it'll make him feel better," he said quickly, "Do you have pizza or something?"

"Oh, yeah, I got pizza!" Ashton said, though his eyes were not completely free of worry yet. Thankfully, he didn't push, and made his way to the kitchen.

"Great, thanks!" Luke called after him. He puffed his cheeks and exhaled, relieved, before entering the bathroom again and locking the door behind him. He gave Michael a thumbs up as his tired eyes scanned the room until they found the cupboard above the sink. Rummaging through its contents, Luke finally found some bandages and cloth.

"Thanks for taking care of me," Michael said as Luke sat down on the rim, his feet inside the tub.

The water felt warm though Luke didn't recall opening the warm water tap in his hurry. "Not a problem," Luke said, "So, what's going to happen now? Do you have to stay in the bath until Neptune and Earth are no longer aligned? Because that's going to be a problem." He dipped the cloth in some water before bringing it to his knee to clean the display of small cuts.

Michael, too, picked up a wet cloth and dabbed it onto Luke's other knee, his movements gentle, "I hope not, but I'm afraid we're going to have to call my aunt."

A displeased sound left Luke's lips.

"What's wrong?" Michael asked, looking up.

"Your aunt doesn't like me much. She gives me the creeps."

Michael laughed. "That means _you_  don't like _her_ , not the other way around," he said, "But truth be told, she's the only one who can help right now, she might have a potion or spell."

"All right," Luke sighed, "I'll call her. Give me some time to come up with a good lie."

Nodding, Michael put away the blood-stained cloth and grabbed a band aid, carefully peeling off the paper on the back and covering the worst of Luke's cuts.

Luke couldn't help but notice how steady Michael's hands were—unlike his own who hadn't stopped trembling since they brought Michael up here.

"I'm sorry my scales are so sharp," Michael said softly.

Luke shrugged. "That's okay. It doesn't hurt much," he lied.

~

Luke easily recognised the car that pulled up in front of the bar, he'd seen it on the driveway when he'd visited Michael's house.

Running down the stairs and ignoring everyone who tried to talk to him—he hoped he looked disheveled enough for them to forgive him for being rude—, he made his way to the front door to greet Serena.

"Serena! I'm so glad you're here," he said, jogging up to her. He wondered when he'd gotten so good at telling lies.

Serena didn't bother with formalities and got straight to the point, "What happened?" Her hair was straight and lay flat in her neck, her face shiny and covered with red blotches. Luke had no doubt she'd been doing her moisturizing routine when he called-he'd seen his mother and Jack do it so many times.

"I don't know, he said he wasn't feeling well and now he's locked himself in the bathroom. He refuses to tell me what's going on! He told me to 'fuck off and call my aunt'."

"Hm," Serena said as Luke led her through the crowd. No more words were exchanged until they reached Ashton's living room.

"He's in there," Luke said, pointing towards the bathroom door. When Serena's hand touched the door knob, he added, "I don't know what you'll find in there, but I'm guessing it's bad. He seemed really stressed out."

Turning her head, Serena's emerald eyes met Luke's and held them for a moment. "He'll be fine," she said eventually, turning the door knob and letting herself in.

A lot of hushed talking crept from underneath the door into Luke's ears, but he couldn't make out any words. He decided to flop down on the couch next to Ashton instead of eavesdropping unsuccessfully.

"Thanks for not saying anything," Luke said.

Ashton shrugged, "You're welcome." His brow furrowed and he bit his lip as he leaned in, whispering, "Is she homophobic?"

Luke blinked. "Why'd you say that?"

"Since she couldn't know you were together in there and all..."

"Wait, who even said I was gay?" Luke protested, crossing his arms. Ashton raised his eyebrows, clearly unimpressed. "All right, well, maybe I am," Luke admitted grudgingly, "but not all the time. Did Calum tell you?"

The wrinkles on Ashton's forehead smoothed out as he grinned. "Nobody had to tell me; I have eyes. You look at him like he hung the stars in the sky," he said, his voice filled with unconcerned amusement.

Luke rubbed his forehead and groaned. "Forget I even asked," he grumbled, his cheeks burning. He was too tired for this. "You guys sounded good, by the way," he said, desperate to change the subject. It worked.

"Thanks!" Ashton said, his eyes twinkly, "So did you. I forgot to say; you're welcome to play here more often, you did a great job."

 "Only if Calum doesn't call Michael up on stage again," Luke mumbled before he could stop himself.

"He was just trying to help. You of all people should know how long it's taken Calum to be comfortable in front of this many people and how he wishes someone would've dragged him out if his comfort zone earlier."

Luke sighed. He knew Ashton was right but didn't want to hear it.

"I'm not saying it was a smart move," Ashton continued, crossing his legs, "because clearly it wasn't, but he's more than learned his lesson. You're not perfect either, Luke. Cut him some slack."

 _Michael almost died!_ , Luke wanted to scream, but he was exhausted and he knew Ashton meant well, so instead he shrugged. 

Ashton rolled his eyes before his brows lowered. "You should probably go downstairs. Calum's waiting for you," he said, his eyes dark. "But first, let's get you into some dry clothes."

~

Luke would've felt anxious if his nerves hadn't already been destroyed today. As he walked down the stairs and pushed open the red door, he knew what was coming for him.

Calum rose to his feet and took a firm stance, crossing his arms, "Do you want to tell me what on earth was so important it ranked above our first gig?" His tone was harsh and it made Luke cringe.

"I can't tell you," Luke muttered, casting his eyes on the tiled floor, "but I promise it was important enough, okay? Michael has a condition—"

Tapping his foot, Calum cut him off, "What kind of condition?"

Luke's shoulders sagged. Why couldn't Calum let this go for now? Couldn't see how shaken up Luke was, couldn't he see Luke couldn't deal with this right now? "I can't—"

Throwing up his hands, Calum burst out, "—can't tell me, what a surprise! Really?!"

"It's not my secret to tell, Cal! You know as well as I do that I wish I could, I really wish I could," Luke said, emphasising every word, "I don't want to keep anything from you, but this is not my call and I thought you'd be more understanding of that!"

"I'm sorry, I don't, Luke. I _don't_ understand. I don't get how we planned this for _weeks_  and you manage to screw it up at the last possible moment! I jeopardized my chances at being a professional footie player for this!"

Luke balled his fists. " _I_ screwed this up? If I remember correctly, _you_ were the one calling Michael up on stage without any warning up front! If you'd let me in on your little plan, I could've told you something like this would happen," he snapped, straightening his back.

"You don't get to lecture me on keeping secrets, Hemmings!" Calum roared, the muscles in his arms straining.

Luke froze. Calum had never yelled at him like that before. And it hurt. It hurt more than he would ever have thought.

There was a knock on the door, and a round face poked itself inside. "Luke?" Ben said, "I'm sorry to interrupt—"

"It's okay," Calum said coolly, though a vein in his neck throbbed, "we're done here." He turned around and pushed himself past Ben.

Luke was pulled out of his trance by the warm hand on his shoulder. Quickly, he blinked away the tears.

He'd saved Michael's life, he hadn't done anything wrong, then why did he feel like he had?

Ben knew him well enough not to ask. "Come on," he said, gently steering Luke through the door with a hand on his back, "Mum and dad are dying to tell you how much you nailed it tonight."

None of anyone's praise improved his mood. He pretended to bask in the glory but in reality it all went over his head—even when the ice cream lady complimented him on his voice.

After a while, Luke spotted Michael being guided out of the bar under Serena's wing. He caught only a glimpse of turquoise hair before the two were gone, and he got a feeling Serena was trying to avoid him. Realising the ice cream lady was still talking to him, he turned his head and nodded, pretending to listen.

No one's words mattered right now, he didn't deserve them. Calum had made this all happen, and now Luke had lost him.

Michael being alive was his only consolation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it, and please don't hesitate to leave some feedback or talk to me about 5SOS or mermaids on [my tumblr](http://cliffordiste.tumblr.com/). And a big hug to everyone keeping up with this story, you all mean a lot to me! x
> 
> (For those still confused about the pun in the title: it's called Trouble. In a bar called Paradise. Trouble in Paradise, you get it? I'm so proud of myself ;D)


	17. Hit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always: sorry it's late! I'm so busy I rarely have energy to write anymore. Plus I'm running out of pre-written stuff to use so I'll have to think of an outline for the next few chapters first, but don't worry, I'll get to that.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!
> 
> !TRIGGER WARNING! if you're sensitive to car accidents and/or mentions of it, please read with caution or come talk to me first.

The following days were the loneliest of Luke's life. Michael missed a few days at school—Serena wouldn't let him out of the house until she was sure he'd be okay—and Calum was outright ignoring him.

Luke hated it. As he sat in class, he could feel Calum's presence like a dead weight on his heart. Even their classmates felt the dark cloud above their heads.

"Is something going on between you guys?" Victor asked during lunch, grey eyes flicking from Luke to Calum-who sat a good two tables behind them with some other classmates.

Luke tore a piece off of his bread, "No, nothing."

"Didn't you perform at a club or something?" Selma chimed in.

"A _bar_ ," Luke corrected, giving Selma a pointed look, "and yes. Calum is friends with the owner so we were invited to play."

"That's awesome! Next time you play, make sure you invite us, too," Selma said, gracefully moving a strand of hair out of her face.

Luke's hand hovered in mid-air as he blinked at her. "I _did_ invite you last time. On Facebook. You said you'd come."

A snort escaped Victor's throat, and Selma shot him an annoyed glare. "Whatever. That was _before_ I heard you were actually good," she snapped, more at Victor than at Luke.

Victor only laughed harder, blond curls shining in the sunlight that entered through one of the big windows.

In any other situation, Luke would've joined the banter but today he didn't feel like it. He didn't know if there ever would be a 'next time' to invite his classmates to.

As he stuffed some bread in his mouth, he wondered what had happened to the brown boy who always had his back. He wondered what had happened to his gentle friend who always let Luke beat him at Mario Kart.

Luke wondered where exactly he'd lost him. It wasn't at the gig, that had just been the last straw. It had happened earlier, but Calum had carried it with him, suffered silently right under Luke's nose and Luke hadn't even noticed. Was it his own fault after all?

 Maybe Calum had realised what a shitty friend Luke was and had settled for Ashton instead...

"Wasn't that freaky haired kid at the gig as well?" 

Luke's head shot up at Victor's words, "You mean Michael?"

"Oh, that's his name? Erica told me he chickened out and is now too embarrassed to show up in class," Victor continued, eyes glittering with amusement.

Luke gritted his teeth in an attempt to keep the anger surging through his blood from taking control. He slammed his lunch box shut. "He was seriously _ill_ , you jack-ass! He's a better person than any of you are," he bit back, his chair scraping over the floor as he stood up.

Before anyone could so much as apologise, he made his way out of the cafeteria, taking big steps. He could feel everyone's eyes on him—including Calum's, but he couldn't care less.

He suddenly remembered why he'd chosen to stick with Calum throughout school in the first place.

~

Luke blinked away the rain that fell into his eyes, legs wrapped around the drainpipe. His fingers finally found the ledge and he pulled himself up as his feet slipped against the wet stone.

To his surprise, Luke found the window opened. He tiptoed over the gravel on top of the garage roof and carefully peeked inside, checking if it wasn't Serena inside instead of Michael. It wasn't.

Michael was sitting on his bed, back against the headboard and feet pulled up underneath him. One of his arms was propped up on a pillow and his gaze was fixated on a cream coloured book in his hand. He started when Luke moved into full view but the grip on his book relaxed as soon as he recognised the person standing at his window. "Oh, hey Luke."

"Can I come in?" Luke asked, his hair flat against his forehead, dripping water into his eyes.

"No, you have to stay out there and get soaked."

Luke laughed but stopped abruptly as he realised he was supposed to be quiet. He climbed inside and winced at the squeaking noise his rubber soles made on the floor. "What are you reading?" he asked, balancing himself on one foot to rid the other of his shoe.

Holding up the book for Luke to see, Michael said, "It's called _A Natural History Of Dragons_. It's fantasy but it's written like a memoir, it's really cool."

"That sounds awesome," Luke agreed, "Be careful you don't actually start believing in fantasy creatures."

Michael threw a pillow at his head but Luke just laughed. He padded over to Michael's wardrobe on his socks, and grabbed a towel. He turned around, toweling his hair, and sat on the edge of Michael's bed, studying the book's cover: a detailed drawing of a dragon's anatomy, complete with Latin names and functions. "I didn't know you read."

Michael frowned, "Everybody reads."

"Not the same amount of material, and not with the same amount of pleasure," Luke offered with a shrug.

"Then you should've specified the amount of reading material and pleasure you weren't aware of me reading."

Luke rolled his eyes and nudged Michael's knee before getting up and flinging his towel over Michael's desk chair. He grabbed the back rest, leaning on it lightly. Water dripped from the towel onto his socks. "Has... has Calum talked to you?" Luke asked, his back turned to Michael.

"Oh, yeah, he called me the day after the gig and asked me if I was doing all right. He said sorry for calling me up without warning, I told him it was fine." Seeing the muscles in Luke's back tense, Michael put his book down and cocked his head, "Why?"

Luke waved it away, "Oh, nothing, I was just wondering."

" _Luke_."

Sighing, Luke spun the chair around sank into the seat. "Fine, we fought. He's mad at me for leaving him at the gig and thinks I've been lying to him. He's pretending I'm air unless I'm willing to talk."

"You _have_  been lying to him," Michael reminded him.

Luke shot him an annoyed look, "Shut up, you know that's not what I meant. I'm gonna have to tell him the truth, he's my best friend." He held up his hand when Michael started to protest. "Listen, I am not losing my best friend since birth over a secret that isn't even mine to begin with. I'm sorry but that's the way it is."

Michael nodded and bit his lip. "Then you'd better hope he can keep a secret," he said, his voice low.

 _Was that a threat?_ , Luke thought. He frowned at Michael disapprovingly and spun around on the chair so he faced the desk. "I trust Cal with my life."

The bed springs creaked.

"I'm sorry, I'm an asshole," Michael said.

Luke refused to look. Resting his chin in his palm, he stared at the massive monitor atop Michael's desk, studying his own reflection staring back at him through the dark.

A fluff of blue appeared next to him and his chair was turned around.

Michael crouched on the floor and put his hands on Luke's knees to stop Luke from spinning any further. Looking Luke into Luke's eyes, he said, "I'm trying, I promise. I have very little experience with having friends but I'm trying to make do. I appreciate everything you've done for me, all right?" He retracted his hands and folded them on the floor, casting his gaze downwards. "I know I'm tough to put up with, but you're still here, so... thank you."

The soft pitter patter of raindrops filled the silence as Luke bit his lip until, eventually, he nodded. 

"Now show me that new videogame you wouldn't shut up about," Luke said, smiling timidly, "The Watching, Under Watch...?"

Michael's lips twitched and his eyes sparked back to life, "Overwatch. It's called Overwatch."

~

Ashton laughed and shook his head, making his curls bounce. "Not a chance."

Pouting, Luke chewed and swallowed the last of his traditional chocolate muffin. "Oh come on," he said, his voice tight, "I'm out of my debt here. Hasn't he said _anything_?"

A small smile played on Ashton's lips. "Luke, this is between you and Calum. It's up to you how you're going from here, I'm not getting myself dragged into this—as much for your sake as my own."

Wrapping his hands around his mug, Luke sighed.

Ashton put down the beer glass he'd been drying off, and swung the towel over his shoulder, "Here's a piece of advice: apologise to him. That'll make things a lot better."

Luke huffed, "I didn't do anything wrong."

"If you say so," Ashton said, shrugging, and got back to his dishes.

The truth was Luke _had_  tried to apologise. During classes, he'd sometimes see Calum look at him with those deep brown eyes, and Luke would want to do everything to make this right. But whenever he walked up to the other boy, Calum's face would turn to stone, and Luke would feel his heart grow cold in his chest.

He'd helped Michael out—saved Michael, even—and he would do it a thousand times over if given the choice. Though in his heart, he knew that wasn't was Calum was mad about.

"Don't you soak your shirt like that?" Luke asked off-handedly, resting his chin on his arms.

A shadow passed over Ashton's face but it was gone the next moment. Ashton shrugged and, to make a point, put his hands as deep in the sink as he could, effectively drenching his shirt's sleeves up to the elbow.

Luke would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed after his visit to Paradise. He'd really hoped Ashton would be of more help. He grumbled as he leaned against a streetlight in the sidewalk, lifting his left foot. His lip curled in distaste at the sight of the massive, pink splotch of gum attached to his sole. "Today just can't get any better," he mumbled to no one in particular.

There was a sudden honk and the shriek of slipping tires, Luke screamed as he jumped aside; and not a second too late. The headlight of the car grazed his leg and the side mirror jammed into his ribs, knocking the air from his lungs.

The taxi swerved back to the right side of the road and drove on as if nothing had happened. Through the tainted window Luke could just about make out the profile of the long-necked passenger. His heart seemed to stop beating. He must've seen it wrong.

Gritting his teeth, Luke lifted his shirt to assess the damage: it didn't seem to be anything serious but he had no doubt he'd have a couple of big bruises later on.

"Holy crap, what happened with that car?" exclaimed a middle aged man with tiny glasses and a balding head, "That was crazy! Are you all right, kid?"

"Yeah, I think so," Luke breathed, flinching as his lungs expanded, sending a jolt of pain throughout his torso.

The man jogged up to him, phone in hand. "I'll give you a ride to the hospital, better get that checked out," he said, already dialing the number. "You're lucky to be alive, young man," he muttered, shaking his head as he put the phone to his ear.

Luke grimaced, "I know." He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to ignore the stares from passersby.

The horrible realisation hit him square in the chest. Pressing his eyes shut, he felt his stomach twist and turn. He leaned against the lamp post and took deep breaths, slowly exhaling through his nose.  Bile rose up in his throat. It couldn't have been her, he must've seen it wrong. But he'd recognise that brown hair and long neck anywhere... How on earth was he going to tell Michael?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was that. I hope you enjoyed it!  
> If you can, please leave me some feedback. Your opinions are important to me and help me be a better writer (:
> 
> Have a nice day! x


	18. Run

Everything was white. White and blue. The light filtering in through the blinds was too bright and sent jabs of pain through Luke's head. He could hear the tick-tock from the clock on the wall, the buzz from the computer on the floor, the footsteps and voices from people in the hall, the dripping of the tap in the examination room behind him...

From behind her desk, the doctor studied him intently while she asked him questions, her hands folded on the light wooden desk. Her words seemed to all blend together.

Somewhere in the hall a door slammed, and Luke jumped at the sound.

"Luke? Is everything okay?" the doctor asked carefully, her eyes narrowing and her hand disappearing underneath the desk.

Luke's head was spinning, spinning out of control. His stomach lurched upwards and the doctor had barely set the plastic bowl in front of him before he doubled over and vomited.

The doctor didn't so much as bat an eye at him and waited patiently until he was done. She stood, "Would you like a glass of water?"

Tears staining his cheeks, Luke pressed his eyes shut and nodded weakly. Now his stomach had gotten rid of most of his nerves, it had also ended the adrenaline rush that had kept him upright. He felt miserable. Like a cat that had just fallen into a fish pond.

His breathing heavy, Luke reached for the napkins and wiped his mouth. He hated puking.

He looked up as the doctor gently placed her fingers on his shoulder and spoke.

"Here," she said, handing him a white plastic cup—why did everything in hospitals always have to be white? And made of plastic?

He sipped from his water as he watched the doctor disposing of the items he'd soiled.

She sat back down behind her desk, a small smile playing on her lips, "Don't worry. It's the shock, it's common. You take a minute to calm down, all right?" Luke nodded. "I'm just going to make a call."

Again, the only thing Luke could do was nod. He was grateful for the icy coolness of the water that slid down his throat.

Soon, he found himself feeling slightly better. His body ached on all sides and he was exhausted, but his head was clearer now. He knew he didn't have any serious injuries, but he couldn't ignore the feeling he'd just barely escaped death.

He listened to the doctor's calm voice as she spoke to someone on the other end of the line. Luke assumed it was the police, but he was only half paying attention to the words.

The other half of Luke's brain was busy trying to figure out how he was going to break it to Michael gently. Maybe he didn't even need to tell him at all... Luke wiped his cheeks dry. No, Michael had a right to know what he was dealing with.

~

After the doctor had pressed her slender, cold fingers against several locations on Luke's torso, had bumped an instrument against his knee repeatedly and had shone into his eyes with an annoying light, she seemed satisfied and walked back into her office, beckoning for Luke to follow.

Luke staggered from the examination table, the paper sticking to his back. As he walked out of the examination room, he put his Blink 182 shirt back on. A stab of pain in his ribs followed, and he bit his tongue.

He watched as the doctor began typing something Luke presumed was a report on his injuries. He hoped she wouldn't mention him vomiting, but he figured it was a false hope.

"You're fortunate," the doctor said, a steely expression on her face, "no broken ribs—believe me, if you had one, you'd know—and even though your leg looks pretty busted, the bone doesn't seem to have so much as cracked."

The middle aged woman looked at Luke from behind her glasses, her fingers continuing to type. "You'll feel a bit battered for a few days. Your ribs did take a hit so it might be painful to breathe at first, but painkillers should do the trick. If the pain increases drastically, or persists for longer than a week, please call my assistant immediately, even if it's just a little. Don't take risks with your health."

It took a good moment for the waterfall of words to sink in. "Okay," was all Luke managed to say. Ever since his arrival in the hospital, his heart hadn't stopped racing. It was all so surreal...

The doctor gave him a smile, "I'll lead you out so you can wait for your parents to arrive. I'll need to have a word with them as well."

Luke followed her into the hallway.

"Would like some more water, or a mint?" the doctor offered as she stood in the doorway.

Meekly, Luke nodded and sank down into one of the uncomfortable chairs. He wasn't sure if he'd said anything at all since the bald man had dropped him off here. At least he'd stopped shaking.

The doctor brought him a glass of cool water and a peppermint, and Luke thanked her before taking a few tiny sips.

Sucking on the mint, he shuffled in his seat, trying to find a position that was at least _somewhat_ comfortable.

He just wanted to go home, wrap himself in a blanket and curl up on the sofa; not plastic chairs, the smell of sanitizer, and lights that hurt his eyes.

~

"I don't know what happened, it all happened so fast... No, no bullies this time, don't worry... Ben, I'm okay, I promise. There's no need to come home from uni..."

Luke looked up as someone with a head full of brightly coloured hair entered his vision. He waved at Michael and turned his attention back to the phone, "Listen, I've got to go. We can Skype tonight if it makes you feel better... Yeah, I'm really fine... Okay, love you!"

"Love you, too," Michael said with a grin, standing in front of Luke. His turquoise hair stuck to his forehead, and tiny beads of sweat slid down his neck.

Luke's cheeks burned a lovely crimson. "Oh, shut up."

After a moment of loaded silence, Michael's face fell and he studied his toes. "I'm so glad you're alive," he whispered.

"Me too." Luke had meant it as a joke, but Michael didn't smile. He patted the chair next to his own, and Michael sat down, his eyes not leaving Luke's face; as if he wanted to soak in Luke's features before they were taken from him. 

Michael's hand clutched the arm rest, and Luke sighed, folding his hand over Michael's.

Luke knew. He saw the guilt swim in Michael's eyes, pulling the corners of his mouth down. Luke felt the thickness of Michael's blood, pulsing underneath Michael's pale skin.

He wished there was something he could do to make Michael feel better, but he knew better. If he opened his mouth, the words would spill and he'd only make it worse. And so they sat in silence.

Luke curled his fingers around Michael's palm, and Michael slowly rubbed his thumb over Luke's hand. Oh, how Luke wanted to raise Michael's fingertips to his lips...

"The police are going to be here soon," Luke stated, "What am I going to tell them?"

Michael shrugged. "The truth; that your favourite friend is secretly a mermaid and needs to be protected at all costs."

Luke turned his head to look at Michael, giving him a stern look. "It's mer _man_ ," he corrected. The corners of Michael's mouth twitched. "In all honesty, I don't know what to tell them. I have no idea what's going on anymore," Luke mumbled.

The light in Michael's eyes dimmed, and his thumb stopped moving. "It wasn't the hunters?"

"I–I don't know," Luke stammered, "I couldn't–I couldn't see it very well. It was a cab, but I think... I think the passenger... Michael, Serena was in the back seat."

Michael stared at him, unblinking. "Very funny."

"No! I'm serious," Luke said, sitting up straight, "I'd recognise her anywhere, it was _her_. I don't—" He took a deep breath and blew the air through his nose.

After a moment of silence, Michael spoke, his brows furrowed. "You mean to say that the woman who's taken care of me _since my first day on land_ is now trying to hurt the people I care about to get to me?" Luke didn't miss the incredulous undertone in Michael's voice. He hadn't expected Michael to believe him anyway.

"I don't think it's just _now_ ," Luke whispered.

Michael's eyes widened. "What are you—you think she—" The end of his sentence was swallowed by a humourless laugh as he yanked his hand from underneath Luke's. His eyes were blazing and the muscles in his jaw prominent. "Luke, that's insane."

"I know," Luke mumbled, looking down at his hands. "It doesn't make sense. But I _saw_ her."

Pressing his eyes shut, Michael rubbed his hands over his face to fold them underneath his chin. He went very still, the angry blush disappearing from his face, leaving him paler than usual. "You think she killed Aimee, too?"

Luke sighed shakily. "I don't know, okay? All I know is that she was in that _damned_ cab that hit me. But think about it: how did she know who and what you were in the first place? Why did she decide to take you in?"

"Why would she take care of me just to hurt me? She could've just killed me right away. I just don't get it... I'm sorry, I want to believe you, I really do, but I can't," Michael said, "I'll keep my eyes open, though, all right?"

"Okay." Luke was too tired to fight. He let out a long breath and leaned his head against Michael's shoulder. Michael's muscles seemed to relax underneath the touch. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Yeah. Me, too," Michael said softly as he leaned his head on top of Luke's. "Just give me some time, I'll figure it out."

Breathing in the familiar scent of citrus and mint, Luke let his eyes slip shut.

His nap was a dreamless void. It was dark and quiet, just what Luke needed. A voice entered his consciousness, he didn't recognise it. 

"...Luke Hemmings?... okay, we'll talk to his doctor first... this door?..."

Luke ignored it until a familiar voice sounded. Michael.

"...been asleep for a while... hungry when he wakes... vending machine on my way here... Bounty or something..."

Luke frowned as he was pulled back into consciousness. "Twix, get me a Twix. I don't like Bounties," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"Ah, look who decided to wake up," another familiar, warm voice said.

Luke's eyes opened and he bolted upright, "Dad!" He flung his arms around Andy's waist and pressed his cheek against his father's chest, letting himself be engulfed by his father's arms. His ribs protested, but Luke couldn't care less.

"Lukey," Andy breathed into Luke's hair, "Never thought I'd actually be happy to see you."

Luke grinned and punched his father in the stomach playfully. Andy only hugged Luke tighter before letting go and taking a step back to look at his son.

"Finally!" Michael chimed in, massaging his shoulder. "I was starting to get cramps from sitting still and I need to pee like a wild horse. I'll be right back, yeah?"

"See you in a minute," Luke said, giving Michael a small smile.

"Your leg looks... pretty bad," Andy observed, his eyes assessing the damage.

"I know. It's just the skin that's been scraped off, though. It hurts but it's not so bad," Luke said, sitting back down. Andy joined him. "What'd you do with mom?"

"I told her I'd take care of it. She's at school, it's not as easy for her to leave her job as it is for me to leave mine."

"She's going to kill you for that."

Andy grinned, "I'm counting on it!"

"Did the cops arrive yet?"

Luke's father nodded, "They're talking to the doctor now. They should be done any—"

The door to Luke's side opened and two policemen stepped outside, thanking the doctor for her co-oporation. 

"—minute," Andy finished belatedly.

The doctor noticed the extra visitor and extended a hand to Luke's father, "Mr. Hemmings, I presume?" 

Andy gave her hand a firm shake, "The one and only! Well, except I've got three sons that are also going by Mr. Hemmings..."

Luke rolled his eyes and tried not to laugh as the doctor forced a smile upon her face, her eyes narrowing. She introduced herself and held open the door to her office.

"I'd like a word with you in private, if that's all right," she said.

"Of course," Andy said politely, having figured out the doctor's stance on humour the hard way. "Will Luke be joining us?"

The doctor exchanged glances with the policemen.

"We'd like to talk to Luke for a minute, if that's all right," the shorter of the two said.

Luke nodded at his dad who looked at him for permission. 

"All right," Andy said, putting a hand on Luke's shoulder, "Don't say anything you don't want to say, you're still flustered from what's happened. Just tell them the facts and I'll be right with you, okay?"

"I'll be fine," Luke said, smiling reassuringly.

"We'll take good care of Mr. Hemmings Jr.," the taller cop said with a wink in Andy's direction.

Andy patted Luke's cheek and left him alone in the hall with the two policemen. One of them had dark skin and hair, and a bulk of muscle with capital B. The other was shorter, skinnier and looked a lot less friendly. Fortunately, the latter of the two didn't say much.

"So, Luke, I'm constable Adams," the friendlier of the two said, grabbing a chair and positioning himself across from Luke, "and this is recruit constable Richardson. We're here to help you and would like to ask you a few questions. Is that all right?"

"Yeah, sure," Luke said, his gaze flicking towards the unnerving blond officer that refused to sit down or say a word.

"All right, good! First off: how are you feeling?" 

Luke shrugged, "A bit battered. It all needs to sink in, still."

"You've never been in a car accident before?" the skinny policeman asked, retrieving a note pad from his pocket.

"No," Luke said, shaking his head, "This is the first time."

The shorter officer scribbled something down, looking almost bored. The kind officer—Adams?—asked him another question, but the words went right by Luke's head, his eyes distracted by Michael strutting up to them.

Michael pointed in the direction of the seated officer, mouthing, "He's taken my seat!"

Luke couldn't help but laugh, and constable Adams raised his eyebrows at him. "I'm sorry, my friend just returned with some food. Would you mind...?"

The blond officer sighed, but Adams gave him a friendly nod, "Of course."

Michael stood by Luke's side and quickly greeted the policemen. He held a bar wrapped in blue plastic in front of Luke's face, "All the Twixes were gone, they only had Bounties left."

"Oh," Luke said, taking the bar nonetheless. It felt strange in his hand but he was too hungry to be picky. "All right, thanks." He undid the wrapper and laughed as he noticed the Twix bars inside. How on earth had Michael managed that?

Michael beamed at him, "Got you!"

"Well, I hope you at least washed your hands after your visit to the bathroom," Luke said. He bit into his Twix and chewed hastily. "You'd probably best go home now. I appreciate you being here, but I'm okay, and it's just talks and paperwork from now on," Luke said, addressing Michael. He refrained from using the word _boring_ , realising it might not be the best idea to insult two constables supposed to help him.

"Nonsense," Michael said, putting a chair down next to Luke and sitting on it. He wrapped an arm around Luke's shoulders, "I'm staying right here with you."

The two cops exchanged a look and the blond one shrugged. 

"All right, then," Adams said, "let's start."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!   
> As always; if you can, please leave some feedback, it would really help me. And big hugs to everyone who already did ♥


	19. Willow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh it's here! Woop woop! Uhm, I am somewhat excited for you to read this chapter, so without any further ado, please enjoy! (:  
> And as always: I appreciate all your feedback to the moon and back ♥

"Ow, Jack, get off me!" Luke whined, pressing his hands against Jack's chest, "My ribs were hit by an actual car, remember?"

Jack pouted but released Luke from his embrace anyway—at least, Jack called it an embrace, Luke would describe it as more of a strangling attempt. He sat on the edge of the sofa, "But I love you, Lu."

"If you really loved me, you'd bake me a chocolate cake," Luke said, pulling the My Little Pony blanket up to his nose and turning away from Jack. He just wanted to sleep.

Jack huffed. "Love is not materialistic, it's a higher form of wealth!"

"You're full of shit," Luke grumbled.

"You're too focussed on worldly things," Jack grumbled right back, winking at his brother. He got to his feet and ruffled Luke's hair, "Sleep well, little brother."

Despite himself, Luke smiled, and fought the urge to fix his hair. 

After Jack's footsteps had disappeared up the stairs, Luke sighed and closed his eyes. It was nice to know he was loved but all the attention and fussing over him was really getting on his nerves. Maybe he should have chosen to rehabitate in his bedroom instead of the living room after all.

Though he was a little hesitant to be alone, he needed to rest. As long as there was someone in close proximity, he would be all right. After all, someone out there _had_ tried to kill him.

He was still contemplating about whether or not he should tell the police. Would it be wise to tell them, would they believe it when it came from the mouth of teenage boy who'd had a nearly perfect attendance record and had never mingled with the dark side of the city? Probably not.

The cops hadn't even asked about it, they stuck with simple questions like "were you walking on the sidewalk when it happened?", "where were you going when it happened?", "around what time did the accident occur?" and "were there any eyewitnesses?"

Evidently murder didn't register as a possible motive with them in this situation. Luke understood, because why would anyone ever try to kill a useless, lanky schoolboy like him?

Maybe Michael was right. Maybe they needed a little time to figure things out. If Luke went to the police with a good motive, they might take him seriously enough to start an investigation.

He stretched his arms and let them dangle off the sofa. There was a sound of scratching on the parquet, and something wet touched his hand.

"Hey, Molly," he said softly, scratching the dog's chin, "Have you come to check up on me, too?"

Molly looked at him with big eyes and wagged her tail.

"All right, fine," Luke said, patting the space behind his legs, "Just be off the sofa when mom gets back, all right?"

~

"Shit, are you okay?" Calum said, barely having been let in by Liz. 

From where he lay on the sofa, Luke craned his neck to face Calum. He'd hoped Calum'd drop by, but he had been too afraid to talk to him first.

"Yeah, just a few bruises but I'm—" He was cut off by Calum flinging his arms around his neck, effectively cutting off his air supply.

"I leave you for a few days and you manage to get hit by a car," Calum breathed into Luke's shoulder, his fingers grasping at the fabric of Luke's shirt.

"I know," Luke whispered.

After a minute of unspoken words, Calum pulled away and sat himself down on the floor, crossing his legs. "This doesn't mean I'm not mad at you anymore, by the way," he added casually.

Luke nodded. "I know," he said.

 "How are you, though? How is your leg? What did the doctors say?"

Luke waved it off. "It's fine, should be healed in a few days. The real pain is here," he said, placing a hand on his chest.

"Your heart?" Calum asked, frowning.

"Oh my god, no! I meant my ribs, you stupid!" Luke burst out, hitting the side of Calum's head with a pillow.

Calum stole the pillow out of Luke's hands and hugged it to his chest. His lips twitched, the skin around his eyes folding into happy wrinkles. "On another note, Ashton would like us to play again next week. Shall I tell him to reschedu—"

"Don't you dare!" Luke interrupted fiercely, "I'm _playing_ that show."

"All right, all right," Calum laughed, "I'll let him know." 

Watching Calum laugh, Luke felt a warmth unfold in his chest. He'd missed Calum so bad. 

A silence wrapped around the two, the smile slowly vanishing from Calum's face. He averted his gaze and sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "I just wish you would tell me what the fuck is going on," he said softly.

"Language!" Liz called from the kitchen.

Luke chuckled and Calum grinned, yelling back, "Eavesdropping is just as impolite, Mrs. Hemmings!"

They heard Liz snicker and make her way into the backyard, where Luke knew Andy was reading a business magazine. The weather was good today.

"I've missed you. I've been mad at you for too long," Calum said, hugging the pillow closely to his chest.

"Yeah, you've definitely exceeded your mad-at-Luke-time limit by at least three days. That's your second strike, Cal. One more and you're out!"

"What was my first strike?"

"Asking difficult questions like that," Luke said, smiling innocently.

Calum swatted him on the arm. His face turned serious again when he met Luke's eyes. "But honestly, why can't you just tell me what's going on?" he asked, his voice thick with worry and something like pain.

Luke shook his head, "I'm sorry, Cal. I really can't." He wasn't lying. Every time he so much as thought about confessing, images of a crumpled Calum bleeding out on the sidewalk flashed before his eyes. Calum could never know. 

"Oh crap, please don't cry, Luke. Please don't cry! I don't want you to cry," Calum said, his eyes widening. He wrapped his hands around Luke's smaller ones, squeezing tight, the brown of his eyes warming up to a dark amber.

"I'm not," Luke squeezed out. He clenched his jaw, determined not to let the tears fall.

In one smooth gesture, Calum wiped Luke's hair out of his eyes and let his hand fall to Luke's shoulder. "That bad, huh?" he said as he looked into Luke's eyes, his voice soothing like velvet. It was more of a statement than an inquiry. He pulled the blanket further up Luke's torso and tucked it in at his armpits, sniveling quietly.

Luke shook his head aggressively and stared at his fingers in his lap, "It's not that, I promise. This was not Michael's fault. It's not like he's in a biker gang or something."

Calum's lips twitched, his eyes becoming lighter. "Damn, I thought he'd fit right in."

"Right?" Luke said, " _Michael's Maniacs: only for true punkers. No admission under the five hair colours_."

"Oh my god, you're so dumb."

Luke laughed, involuntarily blubbering everywhere, and Calum's lips curled into a lopsided smirk, his eyes fond. Closing his eyes, he rested his head on Luke's chest, "I thought maybe it was me."

"Maybe it was you what?" Luke asked, frowning.

"Nothing. Just me. I thought... maybe you'd grown tired of me now you have Michael."

Luke went rigid.

"I know, I'm sorry. You're not that guy, I know, but what if I am? What if _I_ am that guy everyone gets bored of? I mean, I try my best, you know, I just thought maybe... somehow it wasn't enough."

A lump formed in Luke's throat and he swallowed multiple times trying to get rid of it. "Don't you ever think that," he whispered, "Don't you ever, ever think that. We've been friends for as long as I can recall, and you're irreplaceable to me, you understand?"

When Calum didn't look up, Luke grabbed Calum's chin and forced him to look him in the eye. "Do you understand?" he asked again, his voice urgent and his eyes wide and glittering.

Calum nodded and leant his cheek into Luke's palm. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Me too," Luke said. His lips twitched. "At least now we have proof I can't survive without you."

 

~

The warmth of the setting sun brushed Luke's skin as he sat on the brightly coloured blanket. Michael was sprawled out next to him, right on top of the image of Twilight Sparkle.

"We should probably go home soon," Luke remarked, though his voice lacked conviction, "Your aunt will know we've long since finished your 'homework assignments'."

Michael groaned, making Luke smile. He got it, he didn't want to go home either. He'd been stuck in his room for way too long, _resting_. After a few days, it got so boring he'd tried to sneak out, but his mom had caught him and ushered him back to bed.

It took some convincing, but Luke finally got his mother so far as to let him take a walk in the park as long as Michael promised to keep an eye on him.

Of course, the fresh air wasn't the only reason for the ecstatic feeling in Luke's veins. Laying down on his back, Luke shuffled closer to Michael, hesitantly resting his head on the merman's shoulder. "Is this okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," Michael said, wrapping his arm around Luke's shoulders to pull him closer, "It's  _your_  ribs that are crushed, not mine. As long as you're comfortable, so am I."

Luke smiled and closed his eyes, listening to the birds singing their evening song up above in the trees. They reminded him of the time when he first discovered Michael's secret. The willow tree was on the other side of the park, but if Luke tried his best, he would just be able to see it.

"Hey, Luke?"

"Hm?"

"You didn't tell Calum, did you?" Michael said softly. It was more of a statement than a question.

Luke shook his head and swallowed, "No."

"Good," Michael hummed.

Sighing, Luke lifted his head so he could meet Michael's eyes. "I wish I could, though," he said.

"I know," Michael replied, giving Luke a tight-lipped smile. He gently shoved Luke upright and fumbled around with his hands in his pocket. "I want to show you something."

Luke watched as Michael retrieved a small object from his pocket. It glittered in the palm of Michael's hand before he angled it differently and Luke could see what it was.

"Is that...?"

Michael nodded, "You can hold it if you want."

Carefully, Luke plucked the tiny framed photo from Michael's clammy hands. Judging by the ugly, blue backdrop it was probably a school photo from a few years back.

In stark contrast to the boring blue, was the portrait of a girl. Her face was round, she couldn't be older than ten. She had dark skin and frizzy hair that looked untamable, her eyes sparkling mischievously and her lips curled into a grin. Aimee.

"She looks nice," was all Luke could come up with, tracing a finger along the frame.

Michael was staring into the distance, his legs pulled up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. He barely seemed aware of Luke's presence. "She was."

Luke folded a hand over Michael's.

Eventually, Michael blinked and gave Luke the tiniest of smiles, "Don't feel so sorry for me, it was years ago. I've got new people in my life now."

Cheeks burning, Luke stared at him, trying to think of the right words to say, but no matter how much he searched his mind, he couldn't find them. Instead he stared at their hands, their fingers now intertwined.

"I know I almost lost you, but it's not happening again, all right?" Michael whispered, tightening his grip, "I've been out of the ocean for too long, I got careless. I was so busy with land issues I forgot the true nature of the merfolk, I forgot the dangers, the reason I wanted to leave." His lips formed a grim line. "I'll not forget again."

Luke couldn't escape Michael's determined gaze, causing a conflicting feeling of security and nervousness to brew in his the pit of his stomach. He nodded, and Michael's shoulders seemed to relax. "So," Luke began hesitantly, "why did you leave? The ocean, I mean. Your people. What's so bad about them?"

Michael averted his gaze and the blush on his cheeks paled as if the life was being sucked out if him. He gritted his teeth, "Everything."

Luke knew he touched a nerve but before he could apologise, Michael continued speaking.

"And I've made some very stupid and bad decisions myself, too. I'm not proud of it but... I can tell you, right? You won't judge?" Michael's eyes were wide, his voice almost pleading.

Again, Luke nodded, meeting Michael's eyes. "Of course."

Michael exhaled, his hand sweaty underneath Luke's. "All right. So, the first thing you need to know is we're nothing like the myths and lore. Not even the Sirens in the stories come close to the viciousness of the merfolk." Turning his head to check for any passers by, he raised his other hand off of his knee. With an elegant flick of his fingers he called up a sphere of water, and slowly but surely, an image appeared inside. It was like looking at a reflection, a reflection of the images in Michael's mind. Realising he was gaping, Luke snapped his mouth shut and hoped Michael hadn't noticed.

"It's a mind mirror, a trick I learned at an early age," Michael said, looking smug about Luke's excitement. 

Shadowy mermaid figures swam through the sphere, the fish around it hastily fleeing out of view. "We don't live in harmony with all sea creatures, in fact, most of them hate us and avoid us at all costs—and rightfully so. We live on the bottom of the ocean, a place that's dark and cold." The water inside of the bubble turned dangerously dark. "Nothing good ever comes from such places."

Luke blinked. "You did," he whispered.

The smile Michael gave Luke didn't quite reach his eyes. His cheeks regained their rosy colour, but his lips formed a tight line again as he focused on the mirror, changing the image to one of what looked like an ancient cave, filled up with line after line of merpeople. A single mermaid hovered in the middle, her arms raised and tentacles spread out underneath her. "There's no sun bathing on cliffs or beaches, no choirs of merry mermaids. Instead, we chant our verses over and over, every day. Believing that they hold power, because what are we if we can't control what will be? We're a proud people, worshipping our own savage culture, our own dark realm. Anyone who so much as wonders about the above-world is cut off from society immediately and left to die," he said, swallowing hard.

A merman was dragged into the middle of the circle and thrown at the feet—well, tentacles—of the centered figure. With a single, powerful hand gesture, she stripped the scales from his tail and threw him out of the cave where he crumpled and shivered on the bottom of the ocean until he turned to dust, taken away by the stream.

Luke found himself holding on to Michael a bit tighter.

Michael seemed to notice and the mind mirror lightened up, showing a single merman swimming through an endless maze of caves with walls full of carved images. "My parents were on the kinder side, though no one would ever know. They made me work in the temple every waking minute of my life, hoping the hard work and constant brainwashing of the High Priestesses would make me forget, but the memory of star light never faded. Inside those ancient walls I heard rumours I never should've heard."

The merman hid behind a pillar, watching two dolphin-like merpeople converse in quiet tones. "They whispered of a fallen siren dwelling in the west of our territory." The figure straightened his back and swam away, kept on swimming. Michael glanced sideways at Luke, "Close to Brazil, to give you any indication. So when we were in the middle of a sort of national holiday for merfolk, I snuck out during celebrations. No one would notice I was gone until it was too late and I'd already be far away, maybe already had legs. And I found her. I swam for miles and miles, but I found her."

The sarcastic undertone to Michael's triumphant voice made a shiver run along Luke's spine. "She's not like you thought she'd be?"

Michael chuckled, some of the iciness leaving his expression. "She's exactly like I thought she was," he said, taking the time to mess up Luke's hair.

Unamused, Luke hurried to fix his quiff. "So why can't I see her?" he asked, referring to the water mirror going blank, now only reflecting his own face.

"She's shrouded herself from all magic but her own, she won't be captured. I have no doubt she has changed her image since I saw her," Michael explained, shaking his head. "She was cold and cunning, a true witch. If she was a fallen siren, stripped of most of her powers, I hope I never meet a siren at full capacity. But... she told me exactly what I needed to hear; she could get me out, she could get me a pair of legs and a life on land, but, she said, I'd have to make a payment. Magic comes with a price, and she wasn't about to pay it for me.

"I eagerly accepted her offer, unaware of how big the consequences would be. I didn't care, at that time it didn't seem like a big thing to give away, you know, I was already miserable anyway so I thought it couldn't get much worse..." Michael paused and swallowed, his face ashen. "I can't believe I was so stupid," he said, his voice quivering, and his thumb tracing patterns on Luke's skin.

"Hey," Luke said, rubbing Michael's arm softly, "You don't have to tell me. It's all right, I get it."

Michael shook his head. "No, Luke, you don't understand. I gave her my _heart_. I traded my everything just to be on land," he whispered, his fingers curling angrily.

Luke remained silent, unsure of what to say, and huddled closer to Michael so their sides were touching. Maybe the warmth would bring some comfort.

Michael welcomed the gesture and leaned in to Luke's touch, and the sphere of water displayed an image once again. This time, it was familiar to Luke; a boy in a bed with a woman in a chair watching him. "But she kept her word; the next day I woke up in a land-house with a kind lady by my side. The first thing I wanted to do was try my newly acquired pair of legs, so I ran to the beach and felt the warm sand beneath my feet and tasted the salt of the sea in the air." Michael showed Luke images of him running through the streets and along the coast line. The boy stopped and looked at the sky, then his shoulders slumped, and he walked out of view, dragging his feet through the sand.

"But it left me cold. Not only had I lost my tail, I'd also lost myself. I had sold my heart to that witch, not knowing that it meant that I would never feel joy again."

Luke frowned, wrinkles engraving lines in his forehead. "That doesn't sound like you," he protested, glancing at the merman from underneath his lashes.

"You've only known me in the time I've known you," Michael replied, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, "I used to be different, very different. Before you, I lived without really living, just taking every day as it came because I had no other choice. But then I got to know you." He patted Luke on the arm, "And you made me laugh. I hadn't laughed in seven years when you squeezed that chuckle out of me. Seven whole years. It should never have been possible for me to feel joy again, but there it was, and it scared me to death."

Luke snorted. The idea of Michael being afraid of him was ludicrous. Luke was the one who'd been afraid of Michael, not the other way around.

"Shut up," Michael laughed, playfully shoving Luke's arm. "Luke, you _changed_  me, what you're doing to me is against all laws of magic. Merfolk are creatures of the moon, humans are creatures of the sun. We are opposites, we don't connect. You and I, we shouldn't connect, and yet here we are..."

Luke's heart was pounding away against his rib cage. From the corner of his eye, he saw himself reflected in the sphere of water—no, not reflected; he looked different, brighter, and he was smiling, not blushing and wearing the clueless expression he was now. Was this the way Michael saw him?

He wanted to tell Michael, he wanted to say the words that lay on the tip of his tongue. Wanted to tell him that if anyone was a creature of the sun, it would have to be Michael. That Michael himself _was_ the sun. That he was radiant, warm and he had this glow about him that Luke couldn't help but stare at. But the words stuck in his throat and only a low whimper came out.

Michael took this as a cue to lean in closer, their noses almost touching, his irises dilated.

Luke could feel the caramel scented breath tingle on his skin, Michael's low breathing making the blood rush to his face, his cheeks, his lips. His own lips, Michael's lips. Did it matter?

A splash of water sounded as the mind mirror fell into the grass and seeped into the earth. Luke's heart stopped. What was he thinking? Michael was a merman; he had a tail, he was half fish. What was wrong with him?

He pulled back. "I—I don't know," he stammered, his heart feeling like lead, sinking into his shoes. "I suppose there are exceptions to the rule?" The disappointment in Michael's eyes made his heart clench and a feeling of guilt settled in his gut.

Michael averted his gaze and Luke could see his adam's apple bob up and down.

Luke gathered the candy wrappers and stood, clearing his throat. "It's late, we should probably head home."


	20. High Tide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to bring to your attention [this fantastic drawing of merman!michael](http://cliffordiste.tumblr.com/post/149219630194/wolvesmichael-a-mermaid-michael-inspired-by) made by [wolvesmichael](http://wolvesmichael.tumblr.com/). I love it!  
> On another note, I may or may not take a small writing break after this chapter. I had everything planned out in detail up until this chapter and I'll need a little time to do the same for the second 'half' of the fic. But never fear! I will return. I'm not abandoning this, I promise.
> 
> This chapter means everything to me so I hope you'll enjoy it! x

Luke slammed the door behind him and rushed upstairs before his mom could ask him how it was and he'd burst into tears. He was so stupid. Michael probably never wanted to talk to him again.

The walk back had been strenuous and mostly silent, and Luke found himself wishing he had said _something_  at least, but he hadn't known what to say. He still didn't.

As he kicked off his shoes, his gaze fell on the pile of papers on his desk; on top was the bird watching report with a big A minus written in the top right corner. Luke ground his teeth and snatched the report from his desk, flinging it against the wall. That stupid report that had started it all, that had started this... this _mess_  he was in.

His PlayStation controller was next, along with the brightly coloured blanket and the cases of his Thief, Rocket League and Mario Kart copies. It had to go, it all had to _go_.

He grabbed the shirt Michael had borrowed from him and the Green Day shirt Michael wore that day in the park that Luke still hadn't returned, and kicked them under his bed. Even some of his sheet music fell victim to his fit of rage.

His heart thumped in his chest and his face burned, angry tears starting to dry on his cheeks. All this time he'd been falling, falling for Michael, and now he'd hit rock bottom.

As his heart sank to his feet, Luke let himself fall down on his bed, his face buried in his pillow. He ignored the stabbing pain in his ribs, it was nothing compared to the feeling of desperation in his gut.

What was he even afraid of? He had no problems with Michael being a merman, it was just a lie his brain had tricked him into believing. Was it that he didn't want to come out to the rest of his family, his friends? Was he afraid of the prying eyes in the hallways?

No. He'd always been an outcast, he'd never fit in and he never would. He was used to it. And his family would love him no matter what. But would Michael?

A knock on the door disturbed his thoughts.

Luke groaned in response and quickly sat up against the headboard as the door opened. He tried to look like he wasn't tearing himself apart.

"Oh, it's you," he said, his shoulders relaxing as Jack poked his tanned face inside. Jack should really go outside less.

"Yeah, just me," Jack said, leaning his shoulder against the door frame, "Mum sent me to check up on you."

Luke sighed, motioning for Jack to come in. As Jack turned his back to close the door behind him, Luke quickly dragged a hand across his eyes and through his hair, hoping he would look somewhat decent. He hid his clenched fists in the folds of his duvet.

Jack sat down on the side of the bed. For once he wasn't wearing that stupid grin of his. "So, what's up?"

All Luke's muscles were twitching, waiting for a release of energy he was trying hard to avoid. He clenched his jaw. "Nothing," he said, folding his legs underneath him.

Jack raised an eyebrow, looking at Luke knowingly.

"Gahh!" Luke finally burst, "I'm just so _stupid_ , Jack!" he spat, his arms and legs flailing, "I just—I've been waiting for him to make a move and then he tries to and I just fucking messed it up like the stupid asshole I am!" His breathing came in quick, ragged breaths and he clenched his fists around his blankets.

Jack simply nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?" Luke asked, his eyebrows knitting together.

"Yeah, okay," Jack said with a shrug, "You've been so perfect all this time, you're allowed to fuck up, too, you know."

Luke swallowed. "I know," he said softly, playing with the fabric on his lap, "I just wish I hadn't."

Jack smiled, "That's all right. Just make sure you do it better next time, right?"

Luke nodded meekly.

Taking a deep breath, Jack patted Luke's knee. "I'm just glad I'm not the only one who messes up. I was starting to think maybe I was adopted, but now I think that might be Ben..." he said with a wink.

Letting out a snicker, Luke felt some of the pressure on his chest lift.

Jack put a hand on Luke's foot that poked out from underneath the duvet, "Listen, I know you usually go to Ben for this sort of stuff, but I want you to know that you can come to me when Ben's not here, if you want."

Luke nodded. "I'm just not sure what to say," he said, "I don't know what I was thinking.

"But you like him though, right?"

"Yeah," Luke admitted grudgingly. Upon seeing Jack's grin, he rolled his eyes, "I mean, I think I do. I'm not sure."

Jack shrugged, "You don't have to be sure, that's the best part about dating; you can always end it."

Luke stilled. He hadn't thought about it that way before, though he didn't like the idea of ending anything. His fingers played with the fabric of his sleeves. "But what if _he_ ends it first?" he mumbled, refusing to look Jack in the eye.

"Right," Jack said, his face softening, "Because he can't end what you haven't started... Is that it?"

Was that it? Was it that simple? "Maybe," Luke said. _I'm scared he'll get bored of me eventually, I'm afraid I'll lose him forever,_  is what he didn't day.

A rare, thoughtful look spread on Jack's face. "Well then," he said solemnly, "We're going to have to sneak you out. It's a good thing I have a PhD in distractions!"

~

After Jack had left, Luke jumped off his bed and made a beeline for his closet to grab his favourite outfit; black skinny jeans, ripped as always, a black tank top with  _you complete me_  in white letters on the front — with a subtle _SS_ added to form a different word — , and a grey hoodie.

He washed the redness and puffiness out of his face, fixed his hair and even brushed his teeth.

With still half an hour left before Jack would come to get him, Luke tidied up his floor. He grabbed the papers he'd thrown around in frustration earlier and put them back in order.

Sighing, Luke looked at the date on the cover sheet of the report; it was barely a month ago. 

His stomach twisted into knots. Was this even a good idea? How long had he really known Michael for, how well did he really know Michael?

There was a knock on the door.

"Luke?"

It was Jack. There was no time for time for doubts, he had a merman to win over. "Come in!"

Jack stumbled inside and quickly closed the door behind him, "All right, you ready?"

Luke nodded eagerly before his brain could catch up on what he was about to do.

"I'm going to get mum and dad into the kitchen and keep them there, you sneak out through the front door. I'll scrape the chair over the floor one time when it's safe for you to go."

Luke nodded again.

Jack smiled and wrapped his big arms around his little brother. "Good luck!" he whispered into Luke's ear. Then he was gone.  
   
After a few minutes, a familiar scraping sound found Luke's ears. It was Jack's signal.

Luke jumped up and made his way to the stairs, his Converse sneakers softly padding on the carpet. He took the stairs step by step to make the least amount of noise possible.

Liz's angry voice came from the kitchen, "Damn it, Jack! You could've easily prevented this! Haven't we told you again and _again_ —"

"Liz, calm down. With three boys we both knew this was bound to happen at some point," Andy said, his voice carefully soothing. "Do Celeste's parents know yet?"

Luke almost tripped on the last step. He'd have to buy Jack a new surf board as thanks when this was over.

He regained his posture and crossed the last few meters to the door. As he opened it, a click echoed throughout the hall. Luke froze, his hand still on the door knob.

The arguing in the kitchen stopped and a deadly silence spread throughout the house. It was broken by Jack.

"Run, Luke!"

And Luke did.

~

Luke climbed up to Michael's window via the route he'd used so many times before, the blood rushing through his ears. He gritted his teeth against the pain radiating from his leg and torso.

When he was crouched on the windowsill, he tried to close the window behind him with his foot. Instead, a jab of pain shot through his leg and he lost his balance and fell over, the window slamming shut behind him.

He quickly scrambled up to his feet and massaged the shoulder that had taken the worst of his fall.

A bedside lamp was turned on, coating the room in a soft light.

"What the hell, Luke," Michael hissed from his bed.

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" Luke whispered, raising his hands, "I was trying to be quiet, I'm sorry."

Michael rolled his eyes and pulled his duvet up to his neck, "Why are you here?"

The strain to Michael's voice brought Luke back to reality. He had thought up this perfect fairy tale ending in his had, but he'd forgotten to work out the details—like what on earth he was going to say to Michael.

Luke opened his mouth to speak but closed it again. He should've thought this through. Only now did he notice the rawness of the skin around Michael's eyes.

Michael sighed. "Look, I'm trying to sleep here, so unless you have anything usef—"

"I'm sorry," Luke blurted out, cutting Michael off and sitting down on at the foot of the bed, "I'm so sorry for being such a wuss, I'm sorry for letting you down, I'm sorry for pushing you away. I really didn't mean to, I'm just stupid. But please, will you give me another chance?"

"It's already forgiven," Michael mumbled, waving it away. He was about to turn around and continue sleeping, but Luke put a hand on his arm and shuffled closer to him.

Luke bit his lip, his gaze hesitantly lifting to meet Michael's. "Not like that," he said, his voice soft.

Understanding flashed in Michael's eyes, hope smoothing out the wrinkles on his forehead.

Luke melted as Michael's eyes regained their usual shine, and his mind went void of words, so he did the only thing he knew Michael couldn't take the wrong way.

With trembling hands, he cupped Michael's face and brought their lips together gently. Michael's breath hitched and then Michael was kissing him back, lips slowly brushing over Luke's. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears and, a moment later, footsteps in the hall, pulling him down to earth against his will.

"Shit!" Michael spat, breaking away and throwing the covers from his legs, standing as quietly as possible. He looked back at Luke with wide eyes. "Get under the bed," he mouthed, making a swooping motion with his hands.

Without hesitation, Luke ducked underneath the bed, his stomach scraping over the carpet. Dust tickled the insides of his nostrils but he stayed still as a stone, pressing his eyes shut. He would _not_ make things harder than they'd already been.

There was a knock on the door.

"Michael?" It was Serena.

"Come in," Michael replied, making his voice extra creaky to feign sleep.

Luke opened one eye and watched as the door opened, light flooding the room and nearly blinding him. A pair of pale feet with red painted toe nails underneath navy pyjama pants stepped inside.

"What is it?" Michael asked, rubbing his foot up against his leg.

"I thought I heard something," Serena said slowly. Her narrowed eyes were probably scanning the entire room for disturbances right now. She huffed shortly. "Why are my slippers in your room again? You've got to stop taking them, I can never find them," she said, her voice mildly annoyed.

"Sorry," Michael muttered.

Luke held his breath as he saw Serena bend over and her hands and face came into view as she grabbed a pair of bunny slippers off the ground. He could see her lips purse and her braid falling off her shoulder, but she didn't turn to look at him. Still, Luke dared not breathe.

"Why are you awake anyway?" Serena inquired, straightening her back again, "And why are you as red as a beet?"

Luke clasped a hand over his mouth to suppress the yelp that rose up in his throat.

Michael shuffled his feet. "I er—I—I was just—"

"You were just what? If you were up playing videogames again...!"

"No! I wasn't. I was just... doing... you know... doing teenage boy stuff..."

Luke rolled his eyes.

"What's that supposed t—" Serena paused abruptly. "Oh."

The bedsprings creaked as Michael sat down, his legs blocking most of Luke's view. "Yeah," he mumbled, "That."

"All right. Well. Don't stay up too late, then," Serena said, her voice lost its edge for once.

Michael must've nodded because Serena turned around and closed the door behind her. Even after her steps had descended down the stairs and out of his hearing range, Luke waited for Michael's approval to come back up.

He poked his head from under the bed. "Masturbating?" he teased, eyes gleaming.

Michael scowled at him. "Shut up," he said, tossing a pillow at Luke's head and chuckling softly.

Luke emerged from underneath the bed and snuffed a few times to clear his nostrils of the dust that had settled inside his nose. He sat up before wiping his hand over his face and turning to look at Michael, who was staring at him intently. Luke went very still.

"I er, I believe you were trying to say something before my aunt interrupted?" Michael stammered, his cheeks starting to burn.

"Ah, yes. Er, I was," Luke said, rubbing the back of his neck and refusing to meet Michael's gaze. "It was a bit impulsive, really." He hated that it sounded like an apology. He didn't regret it—if anything, he'd do it all over again.

"'s okay," Michael murmured. He flopped down onto the bed and shuffled towards Luke. He stopped when they were face to face; Luke sitting on the floor with his legs crossed and Michael on his stomach on the bed. "Did you mean it?"

They were so close. Luke could see the curiosity glittering in Michael's eyes, felt Michael's breath hit his face. _Yes! Yes I have never been this serious before in my entire life_ , he wanted to say. Instead, he swallowed the lump in his throat and only managed to squeeze the smallest of noises from his lungs.

Michael lips twitched and he leaned in, purposefully giving Luke the chance to pull back if he wanted. He hadn't needed to.

The last thing Luke saw before closing his eyes, were Michael's lashes fluttering as his eyes fixated on Luke's lips. Without further thought, he closed the gap between them and pressed their lips together once more.

At first, Michael's kisses were gentle, attentive. His soft lips slowly brushing against Luke's, carefully getting to know the feeling and taste. Still, it was enough to make Luke's head spin.

He brought up a hand to cup Michael's cheek with and felt Michael's fingers finding their way into his hair. Michael's hands slid down to his neck, sending a burst of electricity down his spine.

A soft moan escaped his mouth and then Michael was pulling him by his shirt to get him on the bed. Luke happily obliged without breaking the kiss, propping himself up on one arm and moving the other around Michael's waist. Michael's skin was soft and warm underneath his fingertips. His lips already felt familiar.

After kissing lazily for a while, Luke pulled back. "I'm sorry I lied to you, Mikey," he said softly, afraid to break the spell. He cupped Michael's face again, his thumb stroking over the stubble that covered Michael's jaw. "I was so scared I'd fuck it up, I've never been in love with a mermaid before," he confessed, forcing himself to look into those lively green eyes.

Michael rolled his eyes. "Merman, it's merman," he said. He smiled and leaned into the touch of Luke's hand. "And it's okay, I've never been in love with a human before, either."

A warmth spread throughout Luke's abdomen. "Mikey, you and I both know that the correct word is merboyfriend."

~

Groggily, Luke woke up from the sun shining right onto his face. He groaned and pulled a hand over his face. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as memories of last night came flooding back.

They kissed.

He couldn't remember much else but he didn't care because they _kissed_. The most important part of the night was captured in his mind forever.

A fluttering feeling in his stomach and a soft chuckle accompanied the thought. He got up and checked his phone to see if there was anything from Michael, but he had no notifications apart from Calum asking him if he was ready for rehearsal this afternoon.

Crap. The show was tonight!

He deflated a little when he saw the time. It wasn't even noon yet, he still had plenty of time to eat and get dressed before Calum would arrive.

He gathered some clothes and stepped into the shower, hoping maybe the warm water would ease his nerves a little.

As the water trickled down his head and back, he felt an unpleasant tingling sensation on his skin. It felt like the water was loaded with electric charge, sending all his nerve endings on edge.

He gritted his teeth against the painful sensory overload. Was this a side effect of the pain killers he'd been taking?

He only had a brief moment to wonder before his legs gave out and he fell over, the side of his face colliding with the cold tiles. Groaning, he turned to get up. But he couldn't.

Cold realisation seeped into his bloodstream as his eyes found the cause; he hadn't just lost his balance, he'd lost his legs entirely. They were replaced with a shimmering, bronze tail.


	21. Shells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am back, hooray!
> 
> Again, a big thanks to Carly for being honest with me and building my confidence. I love you, girl!  
> I'd also like to give a shout out to everyone in the fanfic support club for inspiring and encouraging me, and being there when I needed someone to talk to (about writing but also personal things). And for kicking my butt out of bed (figuratively speaking) to get me to write.  
> And thanks to you, dear reader, for staying with me throughout not only the break, but also the story.  
> This is for you! Please enjoy x

His heart was beating in time with the pounding of his feet on the pavement. He was scared, he was running but he didn't know what from. He didn't know what had happened, how it had happened and why it had happened. Could it have anything to do with kissing Michael? And if so, had Michael known about it?

He rounded the corner and almost collided with a car, causing him to jump out of his skin and stop in his step immediately. He was lucky this time the car was parked.

Bending over, Luke took a few deep breaths as the sun scorched his skin. He needed to take a step back; he might still be hunted so he needed to watch out for himself. A strange silence filled his ears. There was no traffic in sight and the weather was quiet, no howling winds or noisy rain.

He looked up and, to his surprise, noticed he was already in the right street. As he laid eyes on the familiar white house, he stilled, a cold gust of wind tearing at his shirt. How was it possible that, even after what had happened, the building looked exactly the same? Not even a single ivy leaf had changed. In the driveway, the trunk of Serena's car held a few cardboard boxes.

Luke spotted movement and he hid behind the car, peeking over the hood. The front door opened and a denim-clad figure emerged, hands wrapped around another box that was probably about to be placed among the others.

Was Michael leaving?

A horrible thought crept into Luke's mind, leaving him with his feet nailed to the ground. What if Michael had set this all up himself? What if this was his plan along, tricking Luke into falling in love with him — just so he could swap his own tail for Luke's legs? What if Luke had fallen for it blindly?

Luke sprung up and crossed the road, taking big strides; his blood rushing in his ears, drowning out all his senses. 

Michael's head shot up. He lost grip on the box he'd been holding, and it tumbled to the ground, several comics falling out and spreading out on the driveway, driven by the wind.

Had Luke said anything, yelled at him? Luke couldn't remember, but here he was, closer to Michael every second—closer to Michael who looked at him with wide eyes, not even paying attention to his favourite Vision comic exploring the world on its own.

Michael's hands fell to his sides, his face a whirlwind of emotions, "Luke?"

Why did Michael make it sound like a question? "Of course it's me," Luke snapped, "Or were you expecting other visitors?"

"No," Michael whispered, bowing his head. His hair was blown into his eyes but he made no attempt to wipe it to the side.

"Good. Because I've got something to tell you."

Michael shook his head, looking down at his fingers. "You can't. You can't stay, you're not safe as long as you're with me."

For a moment, Luke softened. Michael hadn't done this to him, the moving sea of green in his eyes reassured Luke of that. "I know, but just listen to me for a second, please."

Michael shook his head, his face set, "It doesn't matter, you won't change my mind. Please know that I really do care about you and I've had some of the best times with you, yeah?"

"Yeah, but—"

"I need to leave, you need to stay," Michael cut him off, nodding firmly and folding his arms in front of his chest — though it seemed more like he was trying to convince himself instead of Luke.

Luke sighed, his hands twitching at his sides, "Can you just hear me out for a second?"

"No. Luke, don't make this harder than it already is, please." Michael's voice cracked and he turned away to make his way back.

A desperate iciness unfolded in Luke's chest, spiraling throughout his veins and grasping at his heart. "I'm _not_ leaving, and you're not leaving either. You can't leave, not now!"

He moved to stand in front of the front door, effectively blocking Michael's way, and crossed his arms, his gaze daring Michael to oppose him. "Last night," Luke said, "I need to know."

The puzzled expression on Michael's face made way for a gentle guilt. "Luke—"

"Just listen to me for one bloody second!" Luke roared.

Michael staggered back until he was pressed up against the car, his blue hair whipping around wildly. His eyes went wide.

Luke was as astonished as Michael was, "Oh god, I'm sorry — I'm sorry, I don't know how—"

"She turned you," Michael whispered, dread radiating from his face, making Luke's heart clench, "She actually turned you." 

~

Michael decided neither of their respective homes were safe, and so they decided to hide out at their only mutual friend.

Just like the day before, the walk was mostly silent, except this time, Luke felt worse. His feet purposefully landed on every crack in the sidewalk, though he didn't realise he was doing it. His mind was racing, screaming at him from all sides; screaming at him that he should never have befriended Michael, that he should never have kissed him, that he should never have chosen Michael over his own safety.

Balling his fists, Luke screamed back inside of his head, hoping to shut off the endless stream of thoughts whirling around in his head like a hurricane. He was exhausted by the time they reached the Hood residence.

He wiped the sweat off of his brow as Michael came to a halt on his left, and rang the door bell.

Joy was already beaming at him before she'd even opened the glass door. "Luke, hi!" she said, her voice warm as usual. She enveloped Luke in a short, tight embrace, then stepped back and smiled at Michael, extending a hand, "And you're Michael, right? I didn't get a chance to talk to you the other day, but I just wanted to say you have a lovely voice."

Michael's cheeks regained some colour, and he shook Joy's hand and studied her freshly painted nails, "Thank you."

Luke could see Calum's mother had already taken a liking to Michael; and he would've been glad but there were more pressing matters at hand. "We were wondering if Calum was in," Luke said, making it a question by raising his eyebrows. He'd tried to bring it lightly but Joy's eyes became a little darker anyway.

"I'm afraid he's out at the moment, but he should be back shortly," she said, her gaze piercing yet soft at the same time, "Feel free to wait inside until he comes home." She stepped aside and held the door open.

Luke nodded gratefully and set foot inside, Michael following hesitantly after his eyes scanned the street a last time.

"Is it okay if we wait in Cal's room?" Luke asked, already ascending the stairs two steps at a time.

"Sure, thing! You know the rules," Joy said, smiling warmly at him.

Despite himself, Luke grinned at the memory of the day he and Calum had written their _contract of eternal friendship_. Even though they had known each other through and through, they'd wanted to set up an official document anyway — or at least, as official as eight-year-olds could make it —, stating rules of privacy and comfort and to not replace the other (not even by girlfriends!, Calum had scribbled in red marker to emphasize the importance of the rule).

The rules always popped up in his mind whenever he entered Calum's bedroom. Much like the laws of friendship, Calum's room had barely changed since he was seven, save for an added guitar and bass guitar in the corner, and his colouring books being replaced by an XBox.

Michael lingered on the door step, "What rules?"

Luke flopped down onto Calum's massive bed. "You can touch anything but journals," he said, sinking into the mattress.

Michael stepped inside cautiously. "I think I can do that," he joked, sitting down on Calum's desk chair and spinning from left to right slowly.

A smile tugged at the corner of Luke's mouth and he wanted to laugh, he really did, but he just couldn't.

Michael's lips twitched, and he nodded. "It's okay, I get it."

Luke forced a tiny smile onto his face, nodding at Michael gratefully. "I think I need a nap. Feel free to help yourself to his XBox," he said. 

"All right, I'll keep quiet so you can sleep."

Turning on his side, he hid his face from Michael's view. He wasn't really going to take a nap, both his head and body were too filled up with restless energy to even consider it. Luke just wanted some space to rearrange his thoughts and let it all sink in.

If he were being honest, it felt so surreal. Everything that had happened didn't quite register yet, and he didn't know if it ever would. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

~

"You might want to take a seat," Luke said. He tried to keep his voice level as he wiped his hands on his jeans. Michael stood and moved to sit next to the bed, presumably to comfort Luke, but now Luke just felt as if he and Michael were Calum's parents about to give him _the talk_.

Calum shrugged, "I'm good."

"No, really," Michael cut in, clasping his hands together, "Sit down."

Rolling his eyes, Calum did as he was told and sat down in the chair by the bedroom window. "Will I need protective clothing as well?" he asked, his voice tinged with annoyance. He folded his arms in front of his chest.

"I hope not," Luke muttered, fidgeting on the mattress until he found a comfortable position to change in. He straightened his shirt and hesitantly looked up to meet Calum's eyes. "Just promise me you'll not leave me," he said. It came out like a question.

Calum frowned and nodded, "Promise," he said, his voice unwavering.

"Okay," Luke breathed, reaching for the glass of water on the bedside table, "here goes." He tipped the glass until the water was just about to touch the edge. Looking at Calum from the corner of his eye, he hesitated, his hand starting to tremble. He couldn't do this.

Without warning, Michael gave Luke's elbow a shove, and the water toppled over the edge and into Luke's lap. Luke looked at him with wide eyes.

Michael smiled apologetically. "You were only making it worse," he offered.

Panic clawed at Luke's throat, but there was no going back now. He pressed his eyes shut. The moment passed, and his tail appeared, the fin reaching past the foot of Calum's bed. Just like this morning, it had a bronze, golden shade. The scales glittered in the sunlight.

Luke pried open one eye and swallowed. As soon as he laid eyes on his tail, he was barely able to tear his gaze from it — maybe because he couldn't quite believe this was part of him now, maybe because he needed Calum to believe more than he needed himself to.

Calum shot upright and his eyes went so wide Luke thought they were going to pop out of his head.

"Please say something," Luke said, his eyes pleading. He couldn't lose Calum, not now, not after he'd just gotten him back.

Without realising he was doing it, he reached over and grabbed Michael's hand, curling his fingers around Michael's chubby ones. Michael squeezed back, his eyes fixated on Luke's face.

For a moment, Calum just stood there, opening and closing his mouth several times. He shook his head, then looked again.  "This is real, isn't it?" he asked, his voice suddenly low.

Luke nodded, swallowing again, "Afraid so."

Calum shook his head again, his eyes glittering. He sat down, his eyebrows raised, and the skin around his eyes wrinkled; he looked like he was about to start laughing. "All right," he sighed, dragging his hands across his face before letting them fall to his sides, "You know, I didn't even like The Little Mermaid when I was a kid, but it is how it is."

Luke felt like he was going to cry, his lips twisting into a wry smile.

As his eyes softened, Calum gave Luke a curt nod before tilting his head to face Michael. "So, this is what you've been hiding from me all this time? What you wouldn't tell me?" he inquired. His eyes flicked to the bronze tail between the sheets.

Michael bit his lip and looked over at Luke. "Not exactly," he confessed, the skin between his teeth turning white, "Luke is rather new to having a tail... whereas I, well, I was kind of born with it."

Calum blinked at him twice, looking at Luke for help.

"I accidentally found out about him — that day in the park, remember?" Luke asked. He waited for Calum to nod before he continued. "He told me I couldn't tell anyone, that it was dangerous and could have some serious consequences. And, well..." he said, gesturing at his tail, "That happened."

"Really?" Calum said as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "I swear, if this results in me growing a tail as well, I'm getting a lawyer."

Michael smiled almost gleefully, his round front teeth complimenting the organic shape of his lips, and Luke couldn't help but mirror Michael's expression as a weight was lifted from his shoulders. For a moment, it seemed like everything was solved, like everything was all right.

Calum rubbed his hands over his jeans before standing up and pacing the floor. "So, what happens now?" he asked.

"I-I don't really know," Luke admitted, "I suppose I'll have to get used to this new...feature, and be more careful with fluids — unless we can reverse it, but I don't know if that's possible. Oh my god, maybe I should tell my mum..."

"No!" Michael said sharply, "We're _not_ telling anyone else until we're sure it's safe." His eyes meeting the others' in turn to make sure he got the point across. "Not your brothers, not even your mum, Luke. And _not_  Ashton," he added, his gaze lingering on Calum who looked like a puppy who'd just eaten half of Michael's slipper.

"All right!" Calum said eventually, throwing his hands up, "No telling Ashton."

"Not even my mum," Luke confirmed.

"Good. Our priority right now is finding out what's going on and how this happened, until we have an answer, we have to keep a low profile and stay safe. Avoid any crowded places."

"But — school!" Luke interjected.

"But — the show!" Calum said at the same time.

Michael looked at them in turn. He sighed and raked a hand through his messy hair, "Fine, except those two or if it's really that important to you." He turned to Luke, squeezing the hand he was still holding. "But no trips to parks or football games or shopping centers until you've got this completely under control, yeah?" he said. His voice was stern but his eyes were softened with concern.

Luke nodded, "Deal."

~

"So what happened? What... _changed_  you?" Calum asked, exiting the game and letting his controller rest on his thighs.

"I don't know," Luke admitted, "And neither does Michael. We're still figuring out how it happened and why, but I promise you'll be the first to know if there's any progress on that account."

Calum nodded.

A comfortable silence enveloped them, and Luke closed his eyes, taking in the warmth of Michael's body against his own. Michael had fallen asleep after winning their third race of Mario Kart. His elbow prodded into Luke's ribs and his hair tickled the side of Luke's neck, but the last thing on Luke's mind was moving, and it wasn't just because he didn't want to wake Michael up.

He rested his head on top of Michael's, the arm he'd draped loosely across Michael's shoulders was starting to go numb. Where he had been too elated to calm down, he now he felt like he'd run a marathon in record time. Just as he was starting to doze off, Calum kicked him in the shin lightly.

"Do we cancel the show?"

Blinking away his drowsiness, Luke sat a bit more upright, "No, of course not! I want to do this, okay?"

Calum nodded, "Thought as much. I was just checking."

"Good," Luke said, nodding firmly. After a moment, a thought occurred to Luke. "Calum, do you think your mum would let us sleep over tonight?"

Calum frowned, then shrugged, "It's not _my_  mum you need to worry about."

Groaning, Luke covered his face with his free hand. "Oh no, I completely forgot! She hates it when I sneak around and now twice in a row... she's going to kill me!"

To his side, Michael stirred. "Wait," he said, his voice thick with sleep, "You snuck out?"

Luke's cheeks burned a warm shade of pink, and he was careful to avoid Michael's curious eyes.

"Liz is a force to be reckoned with," Calum admitted, tilting his head, "Maybe I can get my mum to talk to her."

"You think she'd do that?" Luke asked, straightening his back.

Calum nodded, "I'll talk to her once she gets back from grocery shopping."

"Thanks," Luke breathed, "Sometimes I forget what a valuable asset your mum is."

Calum glared at him. "She's not an _asset,_  she's my _mother_. You two have been watching too many action movies," he said, his eyebrows curled into a scowl.

"Can't deny that," Michael said, shrugging nonchalantly. He let himself fall back against Luke's side.

"Also," Calum started, raising his index finger, "I can't believe you didn't tell me you were dating."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter didn't disappoint, given the fact you had to wait for it this long. I don't have an updating schedule yet, but I promise I spend most of my free minutes writing on this story and I'll update as soon as I can.


	22. Whisper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah, guess who decided to update after 74 years?  
> I'm sure by now you're all tired of me apologising for the delay, but life has been so crazy lately and I really want to take the time to do every chapter justice - especially with all the storyline coming together, progressing and resolving - and I don't want to bring it to a hurried ending or overlook any details. I know especially this chapter has taken its time, but I worked hard on it and I'm finally satisfied with how it came out.  
> I hope you'll enjoy it! -Eve

Luke knew he was in deep trouble, so on the way home from Calum's, he stopped by the local supermarket. Putting the box of chocolate pralines — his mother's favourites — on the check out desk, the cashier looked at him knowingly.

"For a special someone?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

For a moment, the meaning of her words escaped Luke, then he shook his head and laughed, "Oh, no. It's for my mum, I'm hoping to bribe her into loving me again."

"Oh." The cashier didn't hide her disappointment very well, and read out the sum Luke owed her.

After he put his money on the counter, took the receipt and wished the cashier a nice day, his mind went back to his actual "special someone", as the cashier had put it. Was Michael still into him, was he still willing to make it work? He had tried to leave after all, but that was before he knew Luke had transformed...

He raked a hand through his hair and breathed out in small puffs. He would ask about it tonight. First, he had more important matters at hand.

"Hello? Mum?" he called when he set foot inside his house. He let the door fall shut behind him. "Anyone home?"

Michael had argued Luke's house might be unsafe and he best stay at Calum's, but Luke had been determined to go home. No cars could hit him here, and with his mother and Jack at home, no one could hurt him without witnesses. Luke's heart rate picked up at the sound of hasty footsteps anyway.

"And where do you think you've been?" Liz's voice sounded close, and soon she stood in across from him, her arms crossed in front of her chest. She was still in her Snoopy pajamas, but there was a strain in her eyes Luke had seen only once before — the day she found the letter.

Luke had prepared a thing or two to say but his mind went blank as soon as he saw the storm of emotion on her face and he almost wished it was a killer he'd encountered instead of his mom. 

Behind his back, Luke's fingers fumbled with the plastic wrapper. "I'm sorry, mum. I was at Cal's, I should've let you know I was out," he mumbled, his eyes not quite daring to meet his mother's. He extended his arm to hand her the chocolates. "A peace offering?"

Liz's eyes were blazing. She snatched the box from his hands and threw it onto the sofa, "You snuck out twice in a row, Luke! And while you were supposed to lay back to recover from a _car accident,_  I was worried sick!"

Luke's shoulders sagged and he stared at his toes. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

An exasperated huff left Liz's lips. "Go and be sorry upstairs, _in your room_. I don't want to hear it," she said, an edge to her voice that Luke knew was reserved for situations where he deserved it only.

"But—"

"Your room. Now!" Liz's finger that pointed towards the staircase trembled.

Luke swallowed hard and bowed his head, silently making his way up to his bedroom, his door falling shut behind him.

He sighed. He knew he sort of deserves it, but that didn't make it any less unpleasant. Oh well, at least he got some extra time to convince his mother to let him play the show tonight.

Luke's eyes scanned his bedroom, and as the early-afternoon sun hit his face, he realised there was no place he'd rather be right now.

Instead of flopping down onto his bed as he'd usually do, he knelt down in front of the window that was left open just a crack. He leaned his elbows on the window sill, a slight breeze tickling his face. The fresh air did him good.

It was only now he started to feel the ache in his bones and the throbbing in the back of his head. If he wanted to play a show tonight — assuming his mom would let him — he should probably get some rest.

Luke filled his lungs with air smelling of freshly mown grass, and slid down to the floor where he curled up on the carpet, hugging his knees to his chest.

Yes, he did need a quiet moment alone. Or rather, a few hours, as it turned out.

When he woke from a few soft, rapid knocks on the door, the sun had disappeared around the corner and no longer shone into his room. A shiver ran down his spine.

"Luke? Can I come in?"

Luke groaned. His eyelids were heavy with sleep and his arm hurt from him laying on it in a weird angle.

The door opened and Liz made her way inside. She brushed her blonde curls out of her face, her gaze searching the room. For a moment her eyes threatened to fill with fear, but then she saw Luke on the floor, and a frown knitted her brows together, "What are you doing _there_?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Luke said before yawning elaborately, "Sleeping."

"If we'd known you preferred to sleep on the floor, we would've sold your bed ages ago."

Luke snorted, detangling his limbs and sitting up, relieved his mother no longer seemed to be mad at him.

"Come sit," Liz said, sitting down on the foot end of the bed. She patted the space beside her on the bed sheets.

Rubbing his eyes, Luke stood and made his way over to sit down cross legged next to his mother. "What's up?" he asked carefully, thinking it would probably be best to let his mom do most of the talking.

"I wanted to apologise for earlier," Liz said, smiling lightly, "I shouldn't have shouted at you, I'm sorry."

Luke nodded. "I didn't mean to upset you. I should've said I was going out but I was afraid you wouldn't let me if I asked..."

Liz tilted her head, shrugging lightly. "I probably would've said no," she admitted, getting a chuckle out of her son. She smiled back at him, resting a hand on his calf, "Still, I'd rather you come to me, all right? If I'd known how important it was for you to see Michael last night, I might even have dropped you off there, you know."

She sighed, raking her fingers through his hair. "I just want you to be safe," she said, cupping his cheek with her rough hands. And Luke knew that, just like her hands, Liz was tough, but that didn't mean he'd have to make her endure more than necessary.

"I know," Luke said quietly, fumbling with his fingers in his lap. "I already promised you it wouldn't happen again, and I still mean it." He felt his mother's fingers slip from his face and to his hands, squeezing them tightly.

"I know, I believe you. But sometimes I just get so scared because I didn't see it coming that time and—" She sighed. "Let's make a deal: you let me know when you want to go out, and I'll be more considerate, okay?"

"All right," Luke said, nodding. He peaked up from underneath his lashes, his lips curling mischievously. "Does that mean I get to play the show tonight?"

His mother laughed. "Of course! Wouldn't want to stand in the way of your rockstar career, now, would I?"

"To be honest, I think you'd love that," he said, his mouth forming a wide grin.

~

"It's good to have you both sitting at my bar again, I don't think I would've survived another day of you guys whining about each other," Ashton said as he filled the cups with steaming hot liquid. "Even when you fight you're constantly fussing about each other, you're like an old married couple."

Both Luke and Calum scowled at him, but the bartender pretended not to notice and rinsed the now empty coffee can.

After a slightly rushed rehearsal, they needed the caffeine in order to make it through the last hour before the show.

"I wasn't _that_ bad," Calum said, his cheeks tingeing scarlet.

"Yeah, and neither was I," Luke chimed in, handing one of the mugs to Michael.

Ashton exchanged a look with Michael and they both grinned, though Ashton more exuberantly so.

"If you say so," he said with a light shrug. For a moment, Calum sputtered an inaudible protest but was soon silenced as Ashton patted his cheek gently, saying, "Don't worry, it's cute."

Calum's cheeks burned a deeper shade of red — if possible — and he stared at Ashton's back as Ashton got himself a cold beer from the fridge.

As far as light-bulb moments go, this definitely was one for Luke. He scrunched his nose, displeased he'd had to witness this with his own two eyes. Ashton popped the cap from the bottle.

"By the way, we're having a sleepover tonight at Calum's. Want to come?" Luke asked Ashton's back, ignoring the murderous look in Calum's eyes.

"A sleepover?" Ashton echoed, turning around while taking a sip from his beer.

Luke nodded. 

"Hm. And what will we be doing at this—" Ashton made a circular movement in the air with his bottle still in his hand, "—sleepover?"

Calum shrugged, "The usual: watching a movie, baking cupcakes..."

"Playing video games!" Michael chimed in.

Ashton raised his eyebrows and chuckled, "All right. Count me in — but only if we're making muffins!"

Luke smiled broadly, "Yay!" He wasn't sure why, but he felt relieved Ashton was coming. 

"You like baking?" Michael asked, quickly regretting his choice to speak as three heads turned his way.

Calum gaped at him, "Does he like — are you kidding me? Have you tasted his muffins — the chocolate muffin you get when you come in here? He makes those himself, you can actually _taste_ the love he puts into it!"

Again, Luke wrinkled his nose, "Gross!"

Calum silenced him with a glare, and Luke took to his drink.

A lopsided smile was plastered onto Ashton's face. "So yeah," he said to Michael, leaning his elbows on the counter, "You could say I like baking. What about you?"

"Oh, I love it! My aunt and I—" Michael fell silent, his posture slumping ever so lightly, but Luke noticed anyway. Michael continued, his voice more distant this time, flatter, "I never really did any baking before, so when I moved in with Serena she taught me all about it." He nodded firmly, as if he was trying to convince himself they were still good memories. "She was a good baker, specialised in all different sorts of cookies."

Ashton nodded, "Cool. Ever made lavender cookies? I found a recipe online and it looked delicious. You could come over some time so we can try it, if you want."

"Yeah, sure," Michael said, smiling and playing with his sleeves.

"Sweet!" Ashton said. His smile moved into Luke's direction, softening a little.

Luke hadn't missed the strain in Michael's voice at the mention of Serena, and he had no doubt Ashton had heard it as well. He gave a small nod in Ashton's direction as thanks. He thought he and Michael might just survive the night.

~

The show went well. More people than last time were attending — including a few of Luke's classmates, and he'd be lying if he said that didn't make him nervous. Playing in front of close friends or absolute strangers was no biggie, but playing a show for people he sort of knew and had to see every day at school... well, it was nerve wrecking.

Fortunately Ashton's warm presence and Calum's collected demeanor helped settle Luke's nerves a little. Just like last time, Ashton handed them a mug of tea mixed with honey, and this time, Calum drank it without complaint — but not without scowling. Ashton scowled right back at him before bursting into giggles, taking the others with him.

Luke quickly distanced himself from his cup before he'd spurt any tea from his nose or spill it over his hands. 

Calum noticed and stood a little more upright, but he never mentioned or hinted at the mermaid thing, nor the fact that he thought Luke and Michael were dating. He'd asked about it earlier, and judging by the frown above his eyes, Luke thought Calum didn't quite understand why Luke was trying to tell him they weren't.

All the while, Michael seemed to shadow Luke, not leaving him out of his line of sight for as long as a minute, but preferring to stay out of close proximity if possible. Even when Luke was on stage, Michael was watching him intently, hiding behind one of the massive tropical plants Ashton had put there to bring more life into the room (and give a little privacy for the rare occasion a couple stumbled into his bar).

His back against the wall, Michael's eyes flickered in the dark of the room, and Luke looked away. The only thing he should be thinking about right now was the music. Swayed by a small but warm crowd, that wasn't so hard to do.

Momentarily, he felt like a younger version of himself whose biggest worry was failing a class. He forgot about the fact Michael had barely touched him or talked to him all day, he forgot about the fact that he had a tail now and could apparently control an invisible force, he forgot about his mother and the letter, and he forgot about the fact that people were hunting him and had even tried to kill him.

It wasn't until their second to last song he was harshly brought back to reality.

Calum had just announced the next song they were going to play, and Luke was about to strike the first chord when he heard the words.

 _We know who you are, half blood_.

It was barely a whisper yet it was enough to make Luke's heart stop. Bewildered, he whipped his head around to get a better look, but there was no one behind him. He turned back on his stool to face the crowd again, and his eyes scanned the faces, seeing nothing out of the ordinary; no Serena to be found.

Smiling weakly, Luke nodded at Calum, who raised an eyebrow at him, and struck the first chord.

 _You heard me_ , the voice whispered again. _We know_.

Luke's fingers slid down the snares, releasing a sound so out of tune it sent shivers down his spine. The voice seemed to be _inside his head_. How could it be inside his head?

Again, Luke's eyes darted over the crowd, and again, nothing. Panicking, he sought out Michael, meeting his gaze easily. Had Michael heard it, too?

Michael's face paled, standing out against the dark wood of the wall. He nodded gravely. _You're fine,_  he seemed to say. _Carry on_.

"Luke?" Calum's voice sounded far away, "Are you all right?"

Luke blinked at him and gave his head a shake in attempt to snap out of it. "Yeah, right, sorry," he managed, forcing a smile onto his lips. "Ready when you are."

After the last song, after the crowd had stopped hooting and clapping, Luke descended from the stage and went to make his way over to Michael only to notice the spot by the wall was no longer occupied.

He frowned, then he shrugged and turned on his heels. Michael had probably gone to use the bathroom, Luke would just talk to his classmates first — they were waving him over anyway.

Passing Calum and his family, he smiled at Joy and David, who gave him enthusiastic thumbs-up, and continued to meet his peers. He didn't want to take any of Calum's glory by joining his family. As much as Calum thrived for experience and expression, Luke knew he needed validation every once in a while. And now, he deserved it more than ever.

"Luke! That was so good!" Abby exclaimed, immediately swerving to his side.

Luke tried his best to smile, uncomfortable by her sudden closeness. She'd never expressed interest in him before, nor had a lot of other girls — or guys, for that matter. He was pretty sure she hadn't even known his name before today.

"Thanks," he said dryly.

Victor patted him on the shoulder, "Well done, mate. You really had me wishing I was there last time!" He looked around the small circle of teens, receiving multiple, almost aggressive agreements.

Luke pocketed his hands. "Well..." He shrugged, unsure of how to reply. He thought about reminding Victor that he could easily have been here last time, but he didn't think it was worth it.

"So this is what you and Cal have been up to in the music room all this time?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Luke said, nodding and smiling. "We used to play songs there during every break."

"And here we were thinking you two were just snogging!" Abby said, poking her elbow into Luke's ribs.

He winced.

Abby mistook his reaction, "Oh god, I'm so sorry! Was that where the car hit you? Shit, I wasn't thinking, I'm so stupid. I'm sorry!"

"Yeah," Luke said, massaging his rib, "It's fine." Though it wasn't the car, and it was hardly all right. He pressed his lips together tightly to prevent himself from saying anything stupid. He liked the attention, he just didn't particularly get on with the people he was getting it from.

Someone tapped on his shoulder.

"Excuse me," a vaguely familiar voice said, "Can I borrow you for a second?"

All eyes went to whoever it was behind Luke, and when he turned around, he understood why.

It was the girl from the ice cream van at the supermarket, except this time, she wasn't wearing a silly blue cap and apron.

Her legs were patterned with dark tights, ending in high heels at her feet. She was wearing a somewhat tight black dress that didn't quite reach her knees, her hair falling down her shoulders and chest in loose curls, and her eyeliner put on in a wing so tight it could cut a man's heart out. Honestly, Luke didn't know where to look, so he looked at the floor instead.

"Uh, yeah, sure," he murmured, already feeling his cheeks burn.

She took him by the arm and gently guided him to a more quiet corner of the room.

"So," Ice Cream Girl said, "You were really good!"

A moment of silence passed before Luke realised he should probably say something.

"I- er- I- thank you."

Her giggles chimed in his head like a church bell, only much more pleasant. She extended a hand. "I'm Denise," she said.

"L-Luke." He mentally slapped himself for acting so stupid. "You were here last time as well, right?"

"Oh, yes!" she said, nodding eagerly. "This time your other friend didn't join you?"

Luke shook his head. "Having stage fright isn't an experience Michael would like to have again."

"Right," she said, smiling a smile that was a little too bright. "In any case," she went on, retrieving something from behind her back, "I thought you'd like to celebrate."

He stared at the bottle in her hand. "Oh, no, thank you," he said politely, "I don't drink."

"Oh, come on." She leaned in closer, subtly dragging her gaze up his chest and to his face. Even though Luke was fully clad, he might as well have stood there completely naked for how exposed he felt.

"Everyone drinks every once in a while," she said, a mischievous smirk pulling at the corners of her lips.

Luke wanted to say he wasn't interested but that wouldn't be entirely true, and he wanted to say he was off the market but he didn't know if that was true, either.

His breath hitched as a drop of water from the side of the bottle landed on the nose of his shoe. He quickly pulled his foot back. "No, thank you," he said repeated, trying to replace the panic in his voice with authority.

He stretched his neck to look around the room. Where was Michael? He'd been at his side the whole evening, why wasn't he here now? His eyes darted over the many different faces in the bar; some of Ashton's regulars, Calum's parents and sister, Luke's own family — minus Ben, who was studying at uni for his upcoming tests —, some classmates, some neighbours... and as always, Ashton behind the bar, and Calum hanging on his every word. The furthest away from Luke as he could get, though Luke doubted he was aware of anything other than the curly haired bartender.

Something wet touched his palm and he yelped, jumping up. He pushed the bottle back into Ice Cream Girl's hands and wiped his palms on his jeans, hoping the fabric was thick enough to absorb most of it.

"I said I don't want it!"

"Aww," Denise cooed, pouting exaggeratedly. Her eyes were sharp, cutting into his mind. _Something wrong?_

Luke stood there nailed to the ground. He could only stare at her in horror, a cold hand wrapping tightly around his heart. In his head, he wished for Michael to be here and explain what the hell was going on, why she was speaking to him, why she was invading his thoughts.

"Something wrong?"

This time, the voice wasn't Denise's, and it wasn't inside his head either. Luke's head whipped to the right. His shoulders relaxed when he met Calum's gaze.

"No, nothing," Denise chirped, making her curls bounce up and down. She'd seen it too, the look in Calum's eyes. "I was just offering him a drink, is all."

Calum crossed his arms, taking a step to the left to stand in between the two of them. "He's underage," he snapped. His jaw tensed dangerously.

For a moment, Denise held his gaze, almost _daring_ Calum to action, and Luke almost hoped she would just so he could see her go down. But she wasn't that stupid.

"Okay, fine," she said, putting the bottle down on the bar with surprising force, "I'm going to go find some people who are actually fun." She turned around and strode away, and Luke wondered how she managed on heels that high.

Calum stared after her, brooding quietly. As soon as she was out of earshot, he turned around and grabbed Luke by the arm, pulling him closer, "What the hell was that? What happened?"

"She tried to shove a bottle of beer into my hands," Luke murmured, looking down at his hands as if to make sure they were still dry, "And I couldn't take it because it was wet."

"Are you okay? Did you touch it?"

Luke shook his head. "I'm all right."

Calum let out a relieved sigh. 

"Thanks for coming over, though. I don't think I would've been able to hold her off for much longer."

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Calum grumbled, crossing his arms, "Why didn't you just call me over?"

Luke shrugged, "I didn't want to bother you. You seemed pretty busy getting lost in Ashton."

 "I wasn't... getting lost in Ash's hazel eyes..."

Luke pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. "I never said 'hazel eyes'."

Calum turned red as a beet and shoved Luke backwards. "Shut up," he murmured. He shook his head and laughed silently. "But hey, you can always call me over, okay? I want to be here for you as always. Nothing's going to change that," he said, squeezing Luke's upper arm.

"Yeah, I know, I just — I know," Luke mumbled, not sure of what to say.

"Luke! There you are," a voice nearing the end of puberty said. Michael ran up to them, his face red and his breathing coming in short gasps. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Luke hurried to say, blinking at Michael, "A girl tried to offer me a drink and I panicked, but Calum handled it."

"Ah, good."

"Where were you? I looked for you at the end of the show, but you weren't with the plant."

Calum rolled his eyes at Luke's choice of words.

Michael swallowed, his eyes darting from Luke to Calum, "I, er, I had to use the bathroom. I hope _the plant_ hasn't been cheating on me while I was gone?"

"Nah, I don't think any of my regulars are plant-sexual," Ashton chimed in, appearing at Calum's side, a lazy grin on his face. "You were awesome, by the way, as expected. Would you guys like to come over to the bar and have a cookie to celebrate?"

Luke shrugged, "Yeah, sure. I'm not one to say no to free food!"

"Except if my mom is making it," Calum mumbled, quickly looking away.

"What was that?" Luke asked, narrowing his eyes at his friend, "Did somebody say something about their mom's terrible cooking skills?"

"No." Calum raised his chin, "I just said I can't help it that your taste buds can't handle any degree of spiciness."

Luke opened his mouth for a counter-attack, but Ashton had already taken Calum by the arm and guided him towards a stool, shaking his head as he laughed silently. Snapping his mouth shut, Luke stared after them for a moment before turning to Michael, "For the record, I'm perfectly resistant to spicy foods."

Michael blinked at him, "Okay, if you say so."

Then Luke laughed and patted the blue haired boy on the shoulder, "Come one, let's go get some free cookies."

When they arrived, they took the seats Ashton had just shooed other customers away from, the leather creaking underneath the fabric of their jeans. The bartender was already busy firing his questions at Calum about what he needed to bring, until what time tomorrow he'd be staying and if they had the baking ingredients they needed to make muffins. Calum's scowl slowly disappeared as he chuckled and shook his head.

"What's funny?" Ashton asked, blinking as he wiped his hands on his shirt.

"You," Calum said.

"Why? I'm just excited, I haven't been to a sleepover in years," Ashton admitted. Feeling three pair of judging eyes on him, he shrugged, "What? I'm twenty-two, no one in their twenties has sleepovers!"

"Lies," Calum told him, folding his arms over his chest.

Luke nodded, "When Cal and I are in our twenties, we'll have sleepovers every night. He'll have his apprenticeship and I'll be studying Math at the University of Sydney, and we'll room together."

"Right," Ashton said, raising an eyebrow, "And you'd go out and have parties every night, bringing home willowy girls with blonde curls and long lashes, and have a few drinks while keeping your grades up and graduating within four years."

Calum at least had the decency to blush.

"All right, at least one of these things isn't quite going according to plan," Luke admitted grudgingly.

A laugh bubbled from Ashton's lips. "Right, just one. Biscuit?" he asked, retrieving a woven basket from under the counter. "How are you, by the way? Heard anything from the police yet?"

Luke's fingers brushed against Michael's as they went to grab the same cookie and he was temporarily distracted, almost missing Ashton's words. He pulled back his hand and gestured for the blue haired boy to take the cookie. "I'm good, recovery's good. I'm glad to finally get off my ass again," his lips barely smiled, he was still a little pissed off at Ashton. "And as far as the police are concerned, it was a drunk driver."

"A drunk _cab_ driver?" Ashton's eyebrows knitted together, wrinkles folding the skin of his forehead.

Luke knew what Ashton was thinking. It was impossible for a drunk cabby to go unnoticed, and with every cab being tracked with GPS they should've found the culprit days ago. Still, Luke shrugged, "Apparently. They haven't caught him yet, but they're working on that — or so they say."

"All right, well, let me know if they find anything, yeah?"

As Luke nibbled the crumbs off of his chocolate chip cookie, he nodded absentmindedly. "Will do. And if not me, you'll hear it from Calum."

Calum perked up at the sound of his name, his ears straining, "Hey! What did I do?"

"Nothing," Luke and the bartender said in unison, wearing matching smirks.

Calum narrowed his eyes at the two but surrendered when Ashton batted his lashes at him. "You guys never tell me anything," he muttered unhappily.

Luke reached over to pat his friend on the back. "There, there. Do you think you'll be all right?" he hushed.

"Oh, fuck off," Calum laughed, pushing Luke's arm away.

Even Michael was laughing, his mouth curling into a perfect shape, and yet Ashton — Ashton whose eyes were always bright and whose lips were always the first to smile — seemed to struggle pulling at the corners of his mouth. Noticing Luke staring, he gave his smile a final push before turning around and pretending to do some dishes. Luke frowned but thought it best not to ask.

"How many controllers do you have?" Michael asked, leaning his arms on the bar and talking past Luke to Calum.

"Enough," Calum said, his lips forming a grin. "Any games in particular you'd like to play tonight?"

"Luke! There you are," a voice interrupted from behind. A hand was placed between Luke's shoulder blades and he straightened involuntarily.

"Mom, hey! What's up?"

"We're going on home, are you coming?"

As his mother's familiar perfume tickled his nostrils, he could feel everyone's eyes on him. "Actually we were going to have a sleepover at Calum's tonight," he said, pronouncing the words slowly and carefully, "Is it okay if I go?"

Liz frowned, "Are you sure that's a good idea? You're looking a bit pale, honey."

"Oh, that's just because some girls swarmed him earlier on," Calum spoke up, "He's still recovering, but Ash's cookies are doing a good job."

Luke rolled his eyes at Calum, though his cheeks turned pink. He turned on his bar stool to face his mother, effectively blocking Calum from her sight. "Can I please go?"

Liz sighed, "Luke, I think you need a bit of rest after everything that's happened. Don't you think it'd be better if you stayed home tonight?"

Biting his lip, Luke tried to think of something — anything — to say to convince her otherwise, but he couldn't deny how close to home her words were. His mouth went dry.

"Why don't we sleep over at Luke's then?" 

Luke followed his mother's gaze to Ashton, who stood raising his eyebrows innocently as he saved the day.

"Yeah," Calum chimed in, leaning backwards so he came into view again, "Why don't we?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, your feedback makes my day and improves my writing, so please don't hesitate to let me know what you thought (:


	23. Slumber

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo if anybody still remembers from last chapter, today is sleepover time, yay! I finally managed to get the finishing touches on this chapter done. If you like, you can consider this a late Sinterklaas present or an early Christmas present from me. I hope you'll enjoy x

"I'm sorry, Ash, I'm afraid there'll be no baking today. We're pretty much out of flour and butter," Luke said, closing the cupboard door above the sink.

Ashton, who stood cramped in between Luke and the kitchen island, had looked over the younger boy's shoulder to make sure there wasn't a secret stash of flour somewhere on the shelf that Luke might've missed. He huffed and crossed his arms, "Well, I'm not playing FIFA for a single minute more."

Luke gently shoved Ashton in the back towards the other two who were waiting on the other side of the kitchen island. "Bored that easily?"

"No, I just don't like FIFA," Ashton said, letting himself be steered by Luke.

"What?" Luke asked, retracting his hands from Ashton's back so swiftly he almost caused him to fall backwards.

Ashton regained his balance. "I don't like FIFA," he repeated.

Michael exchanged a glance with Luke. "I don't understand," he said.

"Did you know about this?" Luke asked, raising his eyebrows at Calum who stood there with his hands loosely at his side and his mouth slightly agape. Calum shook his head.

Ashton rolled his eyes and sighed, "I'm just not that into gaming and I don't like football very much, so there."

Luke almost laughed at the careful way Calum took a step back.

"I'm afraid I still don't comprehend," Michael muttered, his eyebrows knitted together, "What do you mean you don't like FIFA?"

Calum breathed heavily, his eyes wide, "Who are you and what kind of evil force sent you?"

Ashton shoved him in the chest before making his way to the fridge to get himself a drink. "You're all stupid."

Luke shrugged.

"Why didn't you just say you don't like FIFA?" Michael said, hovering at Ashton's side — but far away enough from his drink. "We could've played Mario Kart or something."

"Doesn't matter." Ashton shrugged, chugging some Coca Cola from the bottle. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and offered the bottle to Michael, who declined with a small shake of his head. "So what are we gonna do now? I could get some flour from home, since the shops are closed."

Calum shook his head and quickly pulled Ashton closer by his arm. "Definitely not! Liz will never let you back in if you leave at a time like this," he confided, almost whispering.

Ashton frowned, brushing Calum's hand off of his sleeve, "But it's not even past midnight!"

Calum swiftly went into puppy-mode. "It's not me you should be complaining to," he whined, his bottom lip jutted out.

Ashton chuckled and shook his head, gently patting the restrained curls on Calum's head, making him smile and close his eyes in satisfaction.

"Calum's right, though: my mom won't like it if we go out at this hour. So, ideas, anyone?"

"I have a great idea, actually," Liz chimed in from behind his back, causing everyone to jump. "Andy and I are going to bed in a few minutes, so the living room's yours. You better have those air mattressess all pumped up by the time I've brushed my teeth!"

In a frenzy, they brought down Luke's mattress and duvets, three air mattresses and three sleeping bags from upstairs, organising them neatly around the coffee table in the middle of the living room. Calum and Ashton would sleep on one side of the table, close to the TV, and Luke and Michael would sleep on the other side, closer to the kitchen.

 "Ah, shit," Michael grumbled, his fingers pressing against the top of his mattress, "I think mine's leaking air."

"You're kidding!" Luke dropped his pillow and stepped over his newly made bed to get to Michael. He sat down next to him on the mattress, and sure enough, they were halfway to the ground in a few seconds. Luke's shoulder brushed Michael's as the softness of the mattress forced them both to the centre of gravity in the middle of the bed.

The hissing sound continued even after Luke stood. "Maybe we can get Ben's mattress from upstairs, he's not here anyway."

Michael nodded, "Sounds like a plan." He went to stand but found no grip on the still deflating air bed, his hands sinking into the rubber. "Uh, a little help?" he asked somewhat pleading.

Luke laughed and took his hand, pulling him up. Without a tail, Michael wasn't nearly as heavy.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Why do you think I was on my feet so fast?" he said, unable to to keep the smugness off his face. "It's impossible to get off last."

Michael chuckled in response, "Well, not-so-thanks, then."

Luke couldn't help the stupid smile plastered on his face. "You're not-so-welcome, then," he said softly. He felt the inside of his chest burn with comfortable warmth and saw his dumbfounded grin mirrored on Michael's face.

With audible protest from the bed, Calum flopped down face first onto the air mattressess he'd just filled up with air, the yellow pump doing about the same thing on the floor. "Nothing like a good nap after a bit of exercise," he mumbled into his pillow.

"If you fall asleep now, you're not gonna wake up for a solid nine hours," Luke laughed as he turned towards him.

Calum lifted his head and poked out his tongue in Luke's direction, only causing Luke to laugh harder.

"Come on," Luke said, turning to touch Michael's arm, "Let's get your mattress from Ben's room."

"Get what from whose room?" Ashton informed as he entered the living room, clad in Captain America pyjamas. He dropped his bag of toiletries on the coffee table. "Do you need help?"

"Dude, you already changed into your PJs?" Calum's voice dripped with dismay.

"Uh, yeah. Is that a problem?" Ashton asked scratching the back of his neck.

Calum huffed, "It's one of the things about sleepovers: everyone gets changed simultaneously."

"That... that sounds like something slightly different to a sleepover," Ashton said.

Luke snickered, "Calum's just pissed he didn't get to see you shirtless. Now, are we going to get the mattress from upstairs or are we going to stand here like a bunch of idiots?"

"Oh my god, you sound so much like your mom," Calum groaned.

 ~

"I'll get a DVD from the study," Luke said, after announcing that the time for movie-watching had arrived.

"I have a Netflix account," Ashton offered.

"I prefer a DVD."

"We'll get more choice if we use his Netflix," Calum said.

"No," Luke said, folding his arms in front of his chest, "DVDs are a tradition, we're watching one."

Sighing, Calum rolled his eyes and turned around to flop down onto the sofa, looking over Michael's shoulder to watch him dig up fossils in Animal Crossing on his DS.

Ashton shrugged, "All right! Can I help choose?"

"Yeah, sure," Luke said, pocketing his hands, "The study is just upstairs."

Luke tried to be quiet as he walked the stairs, not wanting to disturb his parents, but Ashton chatted all the way through; he only stopped when they entered the room and he took a deep breath.

A few beams of moonlight peeked in from between the curtains, causing the small study to look even paler than usual. Most of the colour had faded from the wallpaper and carpet — either that or it was covered in dust. This had once been a modern computer room with all black-and-white furniture, but the black had paled and the white had gotten dirty.

It didn't matter, though. Luke's dad had gotten a new job years ago and now worked in an office provided for him at the company building, and Luke's mother preferred to grade papers and prepare lessons on the dinner table anyway.

Come to think of it, Luke hadn't been here in a while.

"The study is a peculiar place for a movie collection," Ashton remarked as he let his fingers drag across the shelf. Dust gathered on his fingertips.

Luke bit his lip, letting his eyes wander over the familiar titles on the myriad of DVD backs stacked against each other. "My parents stored them here so my brothers and I couldn't secretly watch movies without their permission — dad used to work here during the day. It kinda stuck, I suppose."

"My mum used to be grateful when I wanted to see a movie," Ashton said, his eyes sparkling mischievously, "It'd mean I wasn't breaking havoc."

A smile spread on Luke's face. "Oh, you were one of _those_  kids!"

"I definitely was!" Ashton said as he laughed. He sank to his knees and turned his attention to the bottom shelf. "I take it you weren't?"

Luke shook his head, his eyes following Ashton's movements. "Oh, no," he said, "Left that up to my brother Jack. I was the one silently making weird faces in the corner."

Ashton's lips curled into a smile. "And you shared your corner with Calum."

"Even before kindergarten."

"Cool," Ashton said. The corners of his lips sagged. "Wish I had a friend like that."

Luke tilted his head, "Like what?"

Ashton straightened his back and sighed. "I don't know. Just — Someone who knows you through and through."

"You must have friends..." Luke suggested.

"Mostly regulars, and I I feel like the few friends I have don't know me very well: it's like we hang out a lot but we never really talk, if that makes sense. I don't know who I'd turn to if I was in deep shit. I recently found out most of my friends didn't even know I don't have a dad," Ashton said, trailing off. "At this age it seems like such an effort to let someone in on your past. Do you tell them everything? What do you leave out, what do you tell and when do you tell them?" He sighed, rubbing his palms over his jeans.

Luke kept quiet, not knowing what to say.

Ashton forced a smile onto his face and looked up at Luke. "It's all right, though. I manage just fine."

"You do," Luke agreed. "But you'll manage better with with Cal and I."

Something sad flickered in Ashton's eyes before he nodded gratefully and pulled a DVD case out from in between the others. "How about this one?"

Luke's gaze found its way from Ashton's face to the DVD in his hands. "Oh, excellent choice! Calum loves Kick Ass."

"I've never seen it," Ashton pouted.

"It would be my honour to change that," Luke said, snatching the case from Ashton's grip.

~

The sun had long since hid her face from view, and the TV screen flickered where it was paused on the credits and now used as light source for the living room. Luke thought it was a comforting sort of light; not too revealing, choosing to illuminate certain parts only and leaving others pitch black.

As Calum and Ashton's air mattresses were too close to the television, everyone had huddled together on Luke's mattress. The cover sheet was spread out over their legs and feet, barely covering all four pair of them — Ashton's big ass feet definitely didn't make the cut.

Luke was overly aware of his shin touching Michael's but there was no way he was retracting his leg. He turned to talk to the blue haired boy but found him dozing with his head nestled atop his hands. Luke nudged him. "Hey, wake up," he whispered, not wanting to draw attention from the two other boys who were enthusiastically conversing about the movie, "Was it that boring?"

Michael's brow furrowed before he pried his eyes open. "No," he said, his voice husky, "But I was so sleepy..." He yawned, stretching out his limbs elaborately.

"How do you know if it's any good if you've slept through the entire thing?" Luke laughed.

"I didn't sleep through all of it!" Michael said, giving him a mildly indignant stare. "Not to mention I've seen it so many times I could practically recite it word for word."

Luke raised his eyebrows.

"Oh no, you're not going to get me that crazy!" He turned on his side and hugged his arms around his torso, pulling his legs up.

Luke turned, too, and rested his hand between his pillow and his cheek. He felt like he should say something, but he was really just enjoying looking at Michael. He liked the way his cheeks were rosy with sleep, he liked the way his upper lip overshadowed his bottom lip, he liked the way his lashes fluttered as he realised Luke was looking and cast his eyes down.

His heart did a little flutter before he remembered everything in between them they still needed to clear up. Luke knew he had added to that pile today. He knew he should tell Michael about what happened earlier tonight at Paradise but something was holding him back. Luke told himself he simply didn't want to ruin the moment.

Still, it nagged him at the back of his mind up until everyone was lying in their respective bed and trying to sleep, and Luke found himself not being able to do so. Apparently, neither did Michael.

"Luke?" Michael whispered from the mattress beside him.

Luke turned to find Michael sitting up in bed, leaning his elbow on his pillow. Despite the dark, he could see him quite clearly.  "Yeah?"

"Could you get me my backpack?"

For a moment, Luke stilled. "Are you leaving?"

Much to Luke's relief, Michael chuckled softly, "No, of course not. I just want my meds. I can't sleep."

Luke was already reaching for Michael's rucksack, pulling it towards him by the strap, "Where?"

"There's a zipper in the back of the main compartment."

"Got it!" Luke quickly undid and redid the zipper and handed Michael the bottle. "Are they melatonin?"

"Yeah. You take them too?" Michael asked, twisting the cap off the bottle and shaking out a few pills into his hand. He pressed two of them underneath his tongue and let the rest slide back into the bottle.

Luke shook his head. "Not anymore. I used to, though, because I slept so much during the day."

"Hm," was all Michael could say as he was still waiting for the tablets to melt.

"I'm guessing I don't need to ask what's keeping you up?" Luke suggested, receiving a small head shake from Michael. "Thought as much. It must be hard for you..." He tried to think of what he would if his mom or dad suddenly appeared to be taking advantage of him, all the while secretly plotting to hurt him.

The truth was, Luke couldn't imagine. He knew his parents were on his side and would always be, he couldn't begin to comprehend what Michael was feeling. "Still," Luke said, clearing his throat quietly, "Doesn't mean you can just fall asleep during one of the greatest movies ever made."

Michael's expression of shock soon turned into a playful frown. "Fuck off," he laughed.

Smiling, Luke took the bottle from his hands and put it back where it came from and laid down again, burying the side of his face in his pillow.

"Mikey?"

"Yeah?"

Luke bit his lip. Was this a good moment to tell?

"Good night," he said finally.

"Night, Luke."

Luke pressed his eyes shut and kicked himself mentally. He turned on his back and stared at the ceiling, trying to gather up some courage. 

"Mike?" he whispered.

As a response, Michael turned around to face Luke. His eyes glistened in the faint light coming from the lamp post outside.

"I need to tell you something."

"All right," Michael said, nodding, "I'm listening."

Luke chewed on his bottom lip. "You're not going to like it," he admitted hesitantly.

Michael's eyes darkened a little. "I'm still listening," he whispered.

"All right, well, tonight after the show I — Someone came up to me, a girl..." Luke pressed his cheek into his pillow and closed his eyes. "She flirted with me and I didn't stop her."

After a moment of silence, Luke pried open one of his eyes, his heart already aching.

Michael just blinked at him. "So?" he said, his expression unreadable.

"So I wanted to say sorry," Luke murmured, "It wasn't fair of me. I'm sorry."

Michael shrugged, "Okay."

Had Michael even heard what he said? Luke frowned, "You don't mind?"

"Of course not. It's not like we're dating or anything, right?" Michael said, his voice light. Luke thought maybe it was a little too light, but maybe that was just his heart trying to convince his head of a beautiful lie.

"Right."

Michael smiled at him, but his eyes didn't join in. "Good night, Luke."

"Good night, Michael."

Michael turned on his other side again and Luke repositioned himself on his back, folding his hands underneath his head, yet the gnawing feeling in his stomach remained.

He and Michael hadn't really talked about it yet. The kiss. When Calum mentioned them dating, Michael had denied everything so fiercely, Luke had been afraid to bring it up. He thought he probably wouldn't like the outcome.

Ashton's soft snoring filled the room and somewhere outside a dog barked. Luke glanced to his side where Michael was huddled into his sleeping bag, his torso slowly expanding and sinking with every breath.

"Mikey?" Luke whispered again, his voice trembling.

Michael turned around once more. "What is it now, Luke?" he asked, sounding tired.

Luke felt his throat tighten. "I think I would actually quite like it if we were. Dating, I mean," he murmured.

Michael remained quiet for a moment, wrinkles forming on his forehead..

Luke's heart was beating rapidly inside his chest. This was it.

"You mean that?" Michael asked softly.

Luke nodded.

"Even with everything going on?"

 _Even with Michael being a merman? Even with Luke turning into one, too? Even with Michael trying to leave? Even with Serena trying to kill him?_ Luke nodded again. Michael's lips parted, but no words came out.

Pulling his arm out of the comfortable warmth of his sleeping bag, Luke reached out, shuffling a little closer. When Michael realised, he took his hand, slowly rubbing his thumb over Luke's knuckles. "You sure?" His voice was almost inaudible.

A pang inside of Luke's chest refrained him from smiling. Why couldn't Michael just believe him? But then, when the person who's taken care of you for years betrays you, trust issues might be in order.

Luke squeezed his hand, "I'm sure."

A shuddering breath escaped Michael's lips. 

Shuffling a little closer still, Luke brought his other hand to Michael's face. It was rosy with sleep, the skin comfortably warm against his hand. A light stubble tickled his fingertips as he brushed Michael's cheek, but he was distracted by Michael's eyes; deep emerald and staring right back into Luke's.

Their noses touched, and Luke tilted his head, leaning in to connect their lips. It wasn't like the first time — impulsive and a little desperate —, it was soft, gentle. It was more important.

Luke's hand fell on Michael's side, rubbing his thumb over Michael's ribs slowly. His heart skipped a beat as Michael brushed his lips against his own, and he almost forgot to breathe. 

"Just because I can't see you, doesn't mean I don't know what you're doing!" Calum whispered loudly from the other side of the coffee table.

Even though Calum probably couldn't see it, Luke flipped him off.

"Unbelievable," Calum murmured as he pulled his sleeping bag over his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was that! I hope you liked it, and if you can, please let me know what you thought about this chapter. Lately I've been very insecure about my writing and some feedback would help and motivate me tons. Thanks, and have a lovely day!


	24. Placebo

Luke hummed a soft melody as he made his way into the kitchen. He wasn't usually one for mornings but today was excited to go to school, even the gray weather couldn't bother him. After these crazy few days, he was in dire need of something mundane and structural.

He grabbed the milk from the fridge and sat down at the table where his mother had set up a bowl and a box of Choco Pops for him, just like she did every day. Carefully, Luke poured the milk over his cereal and ate with tiny bites. He couldn't spill milk or he'd grow a tail.

Sighing, he swallowed another spoonful of breakfast and stared out the window into the garden. The rain ticking against glass was soothing. So soothing it took Luke an entire breakfast to realise it meant trouble.

"Shit!" he mumbled as he pushed back his chair and stood. In a few quick movements, he put the milk back where it belonged and shoved his bowl into the sink.

He silently made his way up the stairs and relaxed when he heard the shower running, meaning he wouldn't run into his mom soon. When he reached his room, he snatched his phone from the night stand and buried himself underneath his blankets to sulk for a while. He didn't need this right now.

He pulled the duvet over his head and unlocked his phone. As he blinked against the sudden burst of light, he started typing.

 **You:**  Have a look outside [07.57 AM]  
**You:**  :( [07.57 AM]

 **Mikey:** I know [07.59 AM]  
**Mikey:**  Stay in today [08.00 AM]

 **You:**  But I have school! [08.00 AM]

 **Mikey:**  Just pretend you're sick [08.01 AM]

 **You:**  :( [08.01 AM]  
**You:**  It sounds stupid but I was actually looking forward to going to class [08.04 AM]

 **Mikey:**  Nerd [08.05 AM]

 **You:** Shut up [08.05 AM]

 **Mikey:**  We'll figure it out soon, okay? [08.05 AM]

There was a knock on the door and Luke quickly hit the send button before hiding his phone underneath his pillow.

"Luke? Are you still in bed?"

Luke pulled the covers tight around his shoulders. He heard the click of the door knob being turned.

"Luke?" Liz said, "You're going to be late, school's in twenty-five minutes."

Luke groaned in what he hoped was a miserable manner. The bed dipped and the covers were carefully peeled back from his face.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Liz asked in a low voice.

Luke scrunched up his face. "I don't feel very well."

"Oh dear, what is it? Do you have a fever?" Liz reached out and placed the back of her hand on Luke's forehead. "You don't feel hot."

"No, it's more... my head aches and the inside of my face hurts — my throat, my nose," Luke said as he touched his face in the mentioned places. "I think I might've caught a cold."

Liz frowned, "I'm sorry, honey. Why don't you take some Aspirin and see how you feel in an hour?"

Always the painkillers.

Luke nodded obediently and watched as his mother stood and made her way out. It wasn't long before she returned with a glass of water and some pills.

"I'll call the school and let them know you're not feeling good. Dad's at the office and I have to get to school, too," she said, waiting until Luke had pulled himself up against the headboard and took the glass form her hands. "Just get some rest and we'll see if you feel better later on, all right? I'll call you during lunch, text me if you need me to come home."

Luke grabbed an Aspirin and nodded again. "Thanks, mom," he said, trying to make his voice sound tired.

Placing her hand on Luke's cheek, Liz leaned in and kissed his forehead. Her hair brushed the side of his face, and Luke froze at the dampness of her curls, water dripping onto his collarbone.

Luke tried to thaw his limbs, but his mother was already pulling back. Quickly, he wiped his face with his sleeve.

"Feel better!" Liz said before closing the door.

Just in case, Luke rubbed his cheek with his blanket, he did _not_ want to grow a tail right now, even though he was alone.

He released his breath in a long sigh. That had been way too close. He didn't know why she still did that anyway, but he'd have to start keeping a better eye out.

~

There was a knock at the door. "Luke, you've got a visitor!"

The door already opened before Luke could respond, revealing his mother with Calum at her side.

"Hey, Cal," Luke said softly, hoping to sound a little out of it still. "Have you come to tell me all that I missed at school today?"

Calum laughed and shook his head, "Not really, but you can copy my notes if you want."

Luke shook his head. "There's no deciphering the hieroglyphics you call handwriting," he said.

"Fair enough," Calum shrugged, "Liz? Would you mind if I close the door behind me?"

Liz straightened from where she stood leaning against the door frame, not escaping her dismissal. "Right, sorry. Take it easy, all right?"

"Will do. Thanks, mom."

Calum threw his backpack to the floor and climbed into the bed as soon as door clicked shut. "I'm so jealous you just get to skip school like that! Next time you need to give me a heads up so I can stay home, too. School's no fun without you and Mikey."

"Grown attached to him, have we?" Luke teased, resting his cheek against Calum's shoulder.

"Not as attached as you are." Calum grinned. "By the way, I brought you something," he said, leaning over the side of the bed to retrieve something from his backpack.

Several zippers opened and closed, and Luke did his best not to laugh; he had yet to see the day Calum became organised.

"Ah! There you go." Calum shoved a wrapped package into his hands. The wrapping paper was folded strangely so it looked like a three year old had tried origami and failed terribly, and at least twenty pieces of tape held the miserable bunch together.

"You wrapped it yourself?" Luke asked, raising his eyebrows as he took the gift from Calum.

Calum laughed, "That bad?"

"No! No, Not at all... Okay, a little bit bad," Luke admitted, laughing along. He started to pick at the tape, something he'd done since birth; no hastily tearing away paper for him. "Did you use extra tape on this or what?"

"I would never."

"Right," Luke said, finally peeling off the final pieces and unfolding the paper, revealing the present: a woven basket with about ten differently coloured spheres. It took him a while to realise they were bath bombs.

"I figured since you'll be spending more time in the bath now rather than the shower, you could use some amusement while you're in there. These are all from Lush and animal friendly. My favourites are in there too! There's _Dragon's Egg_ , _Intergalactic_ and _The Experimenter_ , which have super cool colours, and _Big Blue_ , _Fizzbanger_..."

As Calum went on to babble about different fragrances, Luke silently marvelled at the brilliance that was Calum's mind. 

Flinging his arms around Calum's neck, Luke thanked him elaborately. Calum's eyes lit up and he patted Luke's shoulder gently, "Any time."

"I promise I'll actually use them myself this time instead of giving them to my mom for her birthday," Luke said solemnly. Before Calum could scold him, he grabbed the blue globe with stars on it —was it called  _night sky_ , _starry night_? — from the basket and turned it in his hand, inspecting it closely. He recalled something Ashton had said to him after Michael became unwell. _You look at him like he hung the stars in the sky._ "Wasn't this one in Ashton's bathroom, too?" 

Calum's lips twitched. "Yes."

Luke grinned, "Aha!"

Rolling his eyes, Calum snatched the bath bomb from his hand and put it back with the others.

"So, how is he?" Luke asked, "Been to Paradise since the show?"

Calum nodded, "Yeah, yesterday, but I left early. His mom's friend has gone missing or something, and of course he's feeling more involved than he should."

"Maybe he knows her, too. I mean, I know some of my mom's friends..."

"Nah, he said he's never seen her."

"But he's just too sweet not to care?" Luke suggested, raising his eyebrows at his friend.

Calum smiled, poking a finger into Luke's arm. "Exactly."

Luke poked him back. "I'm glad you're here. I hate being trapped inside the house."

"I know," Calum mumbled, "I hate it when you're trapped inside the house, too."

~

Pressing his eyes shut, Luke cleared his mind. He emptied it of the distant sound of waves, he emptied it of the feeling of sand burning against the back of legs, he emptied it of Michael's close proximity and how it made breathing harder. It was only him and his own heartbeat thrumming in his ears.

A seagull circled overhead and abruptly dove straight down with a loud shriek to claim an abandoned chip peaking out of the sand, bursting Luke's bubble while doing so.

Luke frowned and opened his eyes, looking at the scene in front of him in distaste.

"You have to learn to shut it out."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I know, Michael. We've been here for half an hour and I'm sure you spent at least half of the time telling me that," he snapped, gesturing towards the seagull. "And I would've managed if it weren't for that _stupid_  bird—!" He was stopped short when Michael exclaimed and straightened his back, pointing to Luke's left.

"What?" Luke asked, whipping his head around, "What is it?"

"You did it!" Michael said, his eyes sparkling, "Look, you did it!"

Confused, Luke turned again to see what he hadn't before; the chip, picked apart and left alone once more. The sea gull was nowhere to be found, though there would soon be another one. He blinked, "Did I—?"

Michael's fringe manoeuvred into his eyes as he nodded enthusiastically. "You totally did! I saw it, there was a gust of wind when you pointed, and the seagull swooped a few feet to the right before taking off."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I saw if s feathers ruffle, it was totally you!"

Luke wasn't sure how exactly, but he managed to gape and smile at the same time.

"It seems frustration is a good motivator for your powers, try using that to your advantage. Pretend you're mad at me," Michael said, positioning himself more steadily.

"What makes you think I have to pretend? Luke already betrayed his intentions by laughing at his own joke.

Michael tried to hide his amusement by shaking his head, but it still showed.

Laughing, Luke crossed the space between them on his hands and knees and wrapped his arms around Michael, tackle hugging him so they ended up rolling through the sand together.

"I can't," Luke mumbled into Michael's black tee, "I'm too happy." He snuggled up against Michael's side, his cheek leaning on his chest. He could feel Michael's heart beat steadily.

"You mean that?" The muscles in Michael's stomach hardened when he spoke.

Luke angled his head to look at him. Then he propped himself up on one elbow and bent over to peck Michael on the lips, chuckling at Michael's wide-eyed reaction. "What? That's my way of telling you 'I do'."

Michael grinned. "If we're ever getting married, you should probably work on saying the actual words."

"Don't be stupid, you love nothing more than my kisses."

"Hm, not sure about that," Michael mused, "Let me check—" he leaned in and kissed Luke, his hand finding its way onto Luke's back.

Luke happily shuffled closer, his fingertips brushing Michael's cheek.

Too soon, though not that soon at all, it was over. Michael pulled back, his eyebrows lowered into a frown as he pretended to be deep in thought. "All right," he said eventually, "I suppose they're not so bad."

Trying his hardest to mock offence, Luke punched him in the arm, and Michael kissed the chuckle from his lips.

"You really don't mind, though? Be honest with me," Michael said later when they were laying side by side, eyes closed.

"Mind what?"

"You know... being a merman and everything."

"Oh." A smile tugged at the corners of Luke's mouth, though his chest felt a little heavy. "Not as much as I would've thought. I mean, I was a bit pissed off when I couldn't go to school. After the accident and the shows and the transformation, I was kind of looking forward to the routine," he admitted. "I just wanted to be normal again for a while."

"I'm sorry."

Luke shrugged, "It's not so bad. Bit of an inconvenience, but not so bad. Just unexpected." He opened his eyes when he felt Michael's hand slide into his own.

Michael just looked at him silently, his eyes shiny.

Sighing, Luke wrapped his arm around Michael's shoulders and let him curl up against him. "It's okay," he said softly, and kissed Michael's fluffy, blue fringe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bloody hell, that was one of the sappiest scenes I've ever written, haha. I hope you liked it, and if you can, please let me know you think! x


	25. Bridges

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The new chapter is finally here! I know it took a long time considered how short it is, but again it got too long for one chapter, so I cut it up in two - meaning the next chapter is not far away!

"Okay, so, what are we going to do now?" Luke asked after leaping onto his bed, propping himself up against the headboard and spreading his legs nonchalantly. "I mean, how are we going to find out anything with Serena gone? How are we going to figure out who's involved, and when we do, what are we going to do? Friendly ask them to explain themselves and maybe reverse it?"

Michael sighed, sitting down on the foot end of the bed. "I don't know. I've searched the entire house but there's nothing there, no clues, not even the tiniest hint."

"It sucks we can't ask the police," Calum murmured, "What the hell can _we_  — three kids — accomplish in a world like this? No one's going to believe or help us, and we've got no connections whatsoever."

Luke's eyebrows knitted together. "That might not be true. Michael has connections, right?" he said, his gaze reaching for Michael.

Michael fumbled with his fingers in his lap, keeping his gaze down. "I'm sorry. Serena was all I had."

A silence spread its hand between them. Eventually Luke broke it.

"Maybe we can go to the police, give Serena up as missing?" There had to be _something_ they could do.

Calum puckered his lips, lines of thought wrinkling his forehead. "It's an idea."

Michael's shoulders shrugged with the least amount of movement possible. "We want to keep this off the radar."

Only the strain in Michael's voice kept Luke from bursting. He just wanted to _do_ something, not sit around and waste time playing video games — and maybe his bones were still restless from recovery, but every time he shared a suggestion that might bring them something at least, Michael shut it down, and it wasn't exactly doing anything to improve Luke's mood.

"I just... I can't believe Serena would do something like this."

Luke softened, promptly feeling guilty for being mad. "I know it's hard—"

"No, I don't just mean that," Michael interrupted, shaking his head, "I mean... I don't think I've told you this yet and this is not exactly how I wanted to break it to you, but remember when I said mermaids have a way to communicate with each other when they're under water?" He waited for Luke to nod before continuing. "Well, we sort of... read... each other's thoughts, and direct our own thoughts at others. To keep your thoughts hidden is a strenuous burden in any case. But hiding something so big in household environment...? It's almost impossible."

"Wait," Calum blurted out, "You mean you can read my mind? What am I thinking now?"

Michael gave him a pointed glare. "You think it's bullshit, and you're right. It only works between mermaids, you dumbo."

Luke's spine straightened. Only between mermaids? But then...

"Serena's a mermaid?" Calum asked before Luke could spill his thoughts, raising an eyebrow.

"I—I don't know, she's something," Michael tried, "With her knowledge of the merfolk and the ocean and the moon cycle, she's connected to them somehow. Maybe she's an outcast just like me."

"I've seen her do the dishes once," Luke argued. "No tail."

"I'm not saying she's in the exact same boat I am. Maybe she lost her tail permanently."

Luke chewed on his bottom lip, "Then why would she give  _me_  a tail? You'd think she'd try to get her own tail back first, right? It doesn't make sense."

Michael sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Maybe she didn't like being a mermaid. I don't know. I don't _know_ , I'm sorry, but I really don't know anything anymore." 

"Maybe she's a witch," Calum offered.

"That's a little insensitive, Cal."

Calum rolled his eyes, "No, I mean it literally. Maybe she just has magical powers. No tail or whatever, just spices and spells and such. You're not telling me witches don't exist, not as long as you're half fish."

"It would explain why you couldn't hear her thoughts..." Luke mused, trying to catch Michael's gaze.

Michael was shaking his head, his eyes pressed shut. "No, no there's something missing. I don't — something doesn't add up..." His fingers curled around strands of his hair, and he let himself fall backwards onto the mattress. "I'm missing something. I'm missing, _missing_  — "

" _Yooooo I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want!_ "

Startled, Luke and Michael turned their heads in the direction of the sound's source; a very embarrassed Calum trying his hardest to retrieve his phone from his pocket. "Sorry," he mumbled, face red as a beet, "Lost a bet."

It was all Luke could do not to laugh into his face.

Studying the display, Calum frowned. He looked up, his eyebrows raised, "Mind if I take this?"

Luke waved it away with his hand, "Sure."

Calum gave him a grateful nod before turning his back and walking towards the window, gazing out of it absentmindedly. "Hey, you," he said after bringing the phone to his ear.

Luke couldn't help but smirk. _Ashton_ , he mouthed in Michael's direction. Michael replied with an exaggerated  _Ohhh_.

"Don't try to sweet talk me, my phone just went off in front of Luke and Mikey... Yeah, you enjoy that, don't you? You smug motherfucker," Calum said into his phone, "What's up, why'd you call?" 

Luke had a feeling this was going to take a while. He moved over to lay beside Michael, laying on his side, one elbow propped beneath his head.

"Hey, Mike?" he said softly.

"Hm?"

"It's not your fault."

Michael let his hands slide from his face onto the bed, his eyes finding Luke's. 

What Michael was looking for, Luke didn't know, but he hoped he'd find it. Cupping Michael's cheek, he rubbed his thumb along the growing stubble, and Michael let it happen, closing his eyes.

It was only now that Luke stopped to look at him; Michael's eyes were puffy and lidded, the circles around them darker than usual, strongly contrasting with his skin. Even his lips seemed to mostly have lost their distinctive pink shade.

Luke glanced sideways at Calum, but he was busy talking on the phone.

Shuffling closer, Luke nuzzled the side of his face against Michael's. "Go take a nap, there's a sofa downstairs. You're safe here," he whispered against Michael's skin.

Michael shook his head slowly, his hand moving to cover Luke's as if he was afraid Luke'd take it away any second now. "I'm okay, I can manage," he said, the corners of his mouth not quite curling into a smile.

"Nonsense," Luke argued, straightening his back, "You look like you're about to fall over, go get some sleep."

Michael frowned. "Honestly, I'm fine." He yelped as Luke scooped him up into his arms. "Luke, put me down, seriously!"

Luke only tightened his grip and started walking. "No. Not unless you take a nap." He was perfectly aware of Calum's prying eyes on his back as he exited the room, and walked downstairs to the living room. Afraid of falling, Michael clung to Luke's chest and buried his face in his shirt.

"There," Luke said, carefully laying Michael on the couch and pulling the familiar fleece blanket from the arm rest.

Michael stopped fighting, and Luke covered him with the soft fabric and sat down next to him.

"You know, I never read _your_ mind," Michael murmured after a brief silence.

Luke smiled softly and wiped some blue strands out of Michael's eyes. "I know."

Nodding, Michael leaned back into the cushions, his eyelids falling half shut. "I don't need to read your mind to know you're thinking about me all the time," he said softly, his lips forming the smallest of smirks.

Luke tried his best to hide his amusement by punching Michael's knee, "Shut up." He stood, leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss against Michael's temple. "Get some sleep, okay?" he whispered, hand warm on Michael's cheek.

Michael nodded, his eyes already closed, and adjusted the blanket. Luke had no doubt he'd fall asleep within the next five minutes.

He chewed on the inside of his cheek as he ascended the stairs. He stopped midway, hand on the rail, and took a glance at Michael's curled up form on the sofa, moving up and down evenly along with his breathing. Luke wanted to hit himself for not seeing it sooner.

Evidently, Michael hadn't slept a wink in days, his house being vacant, losing all sense of home, and having an evil aunt on the loose that could return any moment. Michael needed a safe place to stay.

Luke tapped his nails against the wooden rail and continued upstairs where he lounged on his bed, waiting for Calum to finish his phone call.

And then there was this with mind-reading and Denise... He should've told Michael when it came up. Why didn't he? Now it was only going to be that much harder to tell him. Why was Luke being so difficult lately? He sighed and wished his mattress would swallow him whole.

He'd tell him. Eventually.

Calum lowered his phone, turning around to divert his attention to Luke. "That was Ash," he said needlessly.

"I figured," Luke said.

Calum sighed.

"What is it?" Luke asked, sitting up, "What's wrong?"

Calum shook himself out of it as if he hadn't realised he'd been so weighed down a moment ago. "Oh, just more problems with his mother's friend, nothing you should worry about," he said with a small smile.

"Okay." If Calum said so, Luke believed him. "Hey, so, I just realised Michael's still living in Serena's house — which can't be good for him, he needs somewhere more homely."

Calum sucked air into his lungs, already sensing what was coming.

"Do you think your mum will let him stay with you for a while — at least until we've found a better solution?"

Pressing his lips together, Calum nodded. "Of course. I'll just tell her he's having difficulties at home."

Suddenly Luke's chest felt several kilos lighter. "Promise you'll take him home?" he asked just in case.

Calum held his pinky up in the air, solemnly saying, "Promise."

Luke curled his pinky around Calum's, hooking them together and pulling lightly. "Thank you."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it, and if you can, please leave some feedback. Hope to see you next chapter!


	26. Drop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you I'd upload this chapter soon (:
> 
> And it comes with a warning: there's several, somewhat detailed descriptions of biological dissection and some mentioned puking, so please read with caution or not at all. Stay comfortable!

As soon as Luke entered the Biology classroom, he knew he should've stayed home today.  
  
Calum and Michael grumbled as they bumped into Luke—who stood frozen on the spot—but silenced as they laid eyes on row after row of tables equipped with trays, knives and tweezers. Luke's stomach dropped at the prospect. "Experiment day."  
  
"Oh no," Calum mumbled.  
  
"Let's just go sit," Michael offered, pushing past Luke and choosing a table in the back, closest to the door leading to the Technical Assistant's hutch.  
  
Luke sat next to him, and Calum hovered at the other side of the desk.  
  
More students trickled in until the classroom was almost filled up.  
  
"I don't have a good feeling about this," Calum said under his breath.  
  
"Relax," Michael said, "Let's see what it is first, maybe it's not so bad."  
  
Calum bit his lip but said no more, adding to the pile of unease in Luke's gut. He played with the tweezers on his desk until finally Mr. Van Diemen walked in with a black, plastic box in his arms.  
  
"All right, class," he said, carefully positioning the box on his desk up front, "Sorry I'm late, but I had to pick up a special delivery for today's lesson. It's a very important one, you see, very exciting!" His usually already high-pitched voice had gone up even further.

Luke shuffled to the edge of his seat—barely managing to not fall off—as if getting closer would help him see through the plastic.

"Just tell us what it is already," Calum grumbled.  
  
Mr. Van Diemen opened the lid and grabbed something from inside the box, folding his hands around it. Luke just hoped it wasn't alive. Turning towards the class, Mr. Van Diemen grinned in a child-like fashion. "Today we'll be ... dissecting eyeballs!" He opened his hands and revealed a single eyeball that stared glassily at the students.  
  
A mixture of disgusted yelps and awed gasps filled the room.  
  
"Don't worry," Mr. Van Diemen said, "They're not human eyes: they're cow's eyes."  
  
"Oh, thanks, that really helps," Victor, who was looking a little pale, snapped.  
  
The teacher, being used to it after a life of teaching, skillfully ignored his comment and went on undisturbed, his giddiness unwavering. "Now, everyone come a little closer as I demonstrate exactly what it is you have to do."  
  
Luke had to drag Calum by his arm to get him any closer to Mr. Van Diemen's desk. Wrinkling his nose, Calum mumbled, "This is gross!"  
  
Luke gave him a look. "It's not exactly my hobby either, but I would like to pass the year."  
  
The class huddled close around the desk, some people involuntarily being pressed closer than they'd like by the mass of bodies. Because they'd been at the back of the room and took the longest to arrive, Calum, Michael and Luke managed to remain in the outer circle of the crowd.  
  
Mr. Van Diemen held the eyeball in between his thumb, his index finger and his middle finger. "So, obviously this is the eye. You'll pair up and each pair will receivs one eyeball. We don't have any spares yet, so don't screw up please," the Biology teacher said, deliberately letting his gaze fall on Selma—who had a history of being clumsy. When she started to protest, Mr. Van Diemen laughed and continued talking. "So here's what you do: first, you take the scalpel and poke a hole a little outside the pupil, like so."  
  
As soon as the metal penetrated the eye's tissue, someone shrieked. Half a second later, Victor struggled himself free from the mass and ran out the door with a hand clasped tightly over his mouth. Luke guessed they wouldn't be seeing him again anytime soon.  
  
Mr. Van Diemen blinked as the door fell shut. He turned to address his students, "I hope you're not thinking about how easy it is to get out of it, because Victor will have to redo this experiment next week. This exercise is mandatory for all students, those who don't manage today will have to catch up some other time." He paused to let the words sink in, and Luke got the uneasy feeling that was directed towards him.  
  
He quickly lowered his gaze.  
  
"Okay, as I was saying, avoid cutting the pupil because it may damage the lens—which you'll have to take out and study later on. You're going to cut right around it until you're back where you began. Then you carefully take out the lens and pupil and—"  
  
The moment Mr. Van Diemen turned the eye inside out, letting its contents splash into a tray, was the moment Luke deliberately stopped paying attention. He scrunched his nose and looked at Calum, who had long since stopped looking at the teacher and was staring at the ceiling instead. Luke nudged his shoulder.  
  
"You're looking a bit pale."  
  
Calum's forehead wrinkled. "No paler than you," he snapped. Luke understood why. "You realise it's going to be me who needs to be doing that, right?—lest you guys grow fins?"  
  
Luke was about to comfort him when something prodded at the back of his mind, as if it was looking for a door into his brain. He recognised that feeling.  
  
Mr. Van Diemen removed his gloves and clasped his hands together, "Oh, and one final thing before you start; Never hesitate to ask. You may have heard about Mr. Wilker's accident, but you'll be in no shortage of assistance today as we've already hired another, temporary Technical Assistant."  
  
Before the door even opened, Luke knew who it was. He took a step back.  
  
_Nice to see you again, half blood._  
  
The edge to her voice didn't quite fit the bouncing of her curls or the curve of her lips, but it definitely was _her_  in his mind.

Michael's head whipped to the side in alarm when he noticed Luke was no longer standing beside him. Luke gave him a tight smile.  
  
"Her name is Mrs. Heij and she'll be taking over Mr. Wilker's job for the time being," Mr. Van Diemen said before shooing everyone off to their respective desks. 

Something told Luke that whatever happened to their usual Technical Assistant hadn't been a mere accident.  
  
"What's wrong?" Michael whispered, so close his lips almost brushed Luke's ear.  
  
Luke shook his head, tearing his gaze away from her face and making his way to the back of the classroom. "Keep an eye on her," he said lowly with a curt nod in Denise's direction. And Michael did.

Convincing Mr. Van Diemen to let them pair up with three instead of two was easy, so Calum got to poking at the eye with distaste written all over his face, with Luke writing down observations while Michael pretended to pay attention when in reality he was following Denise's every move. In turn, Denise's eyes didn't seem to leave Luke at any given moment. He felt the weight of her gaze throughout his every move but tried his hardest to push it out of his mind.  
  
With notebook in hand, scribbling down answers to the questions on the A4 handout, Luke watched as Calum went about his business. His first note on the page was Calum's comment about the sturdiness of the eyeball.  
  
"Look at it!" Calum exclaimed, fueled by frustration, "I'm literally _jabbing_ the scalpel into it, but it won't budge!"  
  
Michael stood at the side, watching the scene from the corner of his eye. "Maybe it's blunt. We could get another scalpel."  
  
"We're not getting another scalpel," Calum said through his teeth, but Michael had already taken off to find their teacher. "Oh, for fuck's sake!" Calum roared, bringing the knife down to strike down hard — hard enough for the eye to split open and squirt its insides all over Luke's arm and shoulder.  
  
Wide eyed, Luke jumped back, but Calum had already stormed into the Technical Assistant's hutch. Luke swiftly followed but not before he felt a cold hand reaching for his arm. Luke was faster and locked the door behind him.  
  
He rounded the desk and busied himself with freeing his legs of his pants before it'd be shredded to pieces. Already the skin on his legs and feet was tingling and prickly, like a thousand little needles were pressed into the surface of his flesh. Luke barely made it to the ground on time.  
  
His fim made a soft _splat_ sound as his tail hit the laminate.  
  
Luke looked around the room. "Other door! Lock the other door!" he shrieked, panicking because his eyes weren't finding Calum soon enough.   
  
Calum appeared from behind the desk, looking a bit greenish and wobbling on his legs as he walked over to close the door leading to the hallway and locking it. He let out a shaky sigh and raked a hand through his hair, "Well, that was horrible."  
  
"Could have gone worse," Luke said, shrugging. He studied Calum's face for a moment. "Wait, did you puke?"  
  
Calum pressed his lips into a thin line.  
  
"Yikes," Luke said, making a face.  
  
"Fucking tell me about it," Calum grumbled. He walked to one of the sinks and drank some water from the tap. Pushing short puffs of air through his nose, he turned back and stared at Luke — who was lying on the cold laminate and was hopelessly attached to his tail. "How long until fish-time is over?" he asked, leaning back against the sink, the cold of the metal spreading through his palms.  
  
Luke shrugged, "Don't know. A few minutes?" He looked down to assess the damage and found that he was still wearing his splattered shirt. Sighing, he took it off and rubbed the fabric over his arms to dry them. "A few minutes more, I'm afraid."  
  
Calum rolled his eyes, "You're an idiot."  
  
_Luke?_  
  
The voice in his head wasn't Denise's. "Michael?" he said, "I'm here." Calum gave him a funny look, and Luke realised that of course Calum hadn't heard Michael.  
  
_Luke, are you alright?_  
  
How was he going to let Michael know he was all right? Michael had taught him zero about how to whisper in people's minds.  
  
"Luke?" The voice was shrill and accompanied by three loud knocks on the door. "Calum? Are you guys all right? What happened?"  
  
Calum and Luke exchanged a look.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Van Diemen," Luke said, "Calum—I mean, _I_ threw up, but I'm fine now."  
  
There was a sigh from the other side of the door. "All right. Can you open the door?"  
  
"No!" Luke shook his head, "I'm—I'm—"  
  
"He's half naked!" Calum chimed in.  
  
Mr. Van Diemen's frown was almost audible through the wood. "What?"  
  
Luke raised his eyebrows at Calum to say, _you got me into this, now get me out of it._  
  
Calum opened and closed his mouth a few times before anything came out. "He—er—threw up on his shirt."  
  
Leaning back on his elbows, Luke threw his head back in exasperation. No doubt the whole class was listening at the door and had just heard the gruesome detail.  
  
"Oh." There was a silence. "Can you at least open the door so I can check if you're all right?"  
  
Luke's heart was pounding in his chest. He was trying, he was really trying, but his tail just wouldn't vanish. Calum looked at him, but Luke shook his head no.  
  
"Oh no, he just puked again!" Calum yelled, throwing his arms up.  
  
The doorknob rattled, "Listen, I really need to see if anything's wrong. Can you let me in?"  
  
"He doesn't want to talk right now, he needs a minute."  
  
Luke wasn't surprised by Calum's ability to lie, but he had to admit he was quite impressed by his imagination and problem solving capabilities.  
  
Again, something prodded at the back of his mind. Michael?

_Another minute's not going to save you, half blood._

Not Michael.  
  
What did she want from him? Why was she doing this? Luke couldn't figure it out.  
  
_To expose you, of course,_ Denise said.  
  
Luke bolted up right. How did she know what he was thinking?

 _Your thoughts are all over the place,_ Denise said, _Easy to catch. Easy to twist._  
  
_Stop it!_ Luke said, _Get out of my head!_  
  
Denise hummed a light melody in his head, _But it's so much fun here!_  
  
Luke's breathing became ragged. There was no way out. He was never getting out of this, she had control of his tail and she was never going to let it go.  
  
The doorknob rattled again, Mr. Van Diemen's voice angrier this time. "Boys, open up this door, now!"  
  
"Give him a minute to catch his breath!" Calum said, still arguing on Luke's behalf.  
  
Two soft knocks sounded from the other side of the room, and Luke twisted his head in its direction. "Can you go see who it is?" he asked Calum in a hushed voice.  
  
Calum nodded and walked to the other door, the one leading to the hallway, "What do you want?"  
  
Luke held his breath.  
  
"It's me, you stupid." Michael.  
  
Calum opened and closed the door so fast Luke almost missed Michael getting in. In the blink of an eye, Michael was at Luke's side, "What is it? What's wrong?"  
  
Luke shook his head, feeling his bottom lip trembling. "It's not going away, I'm not getting my legs back," he choked out.  
  
Michael examined his tail, raising and turning the fin as if it would provide him any answers. Gently, he lowered Luke's tail again and shook his head, looking at the floor. "I don't understand."  
  
That was it for Luke. "Oh god, I'm never going back to normal, am I?" he sobbed, clasping a hand over his mouth.  
  
Startled, Calum stopped arguing with their teacher for a minute. Michael dismissed it with a wave. "Luke, calm down. This doesn't mean anything, you'll get your legs back, I promise," he said, placing a warm hand on Luke's shoulder.  
  
Luke shook his head aggressively. "No I'm not. She's—she's controlling it!"  
  
Michael frowned, something dark flashing in his eyes. "She who?"  
  
"D—Denise, the temporary Technical Assistant. She's in my head, she's controlling my tail!" Waves of panic now washed over Luke as his throat tightened and he began to shiver.  
  
" _No one_ but you has final control over your tail, all right? It's not possible," Michael said, his hands finding Luke's. "You're going to be just fine."  
  
Michael squeezed softly and Luke clung to his fingers for dear life. He swallowed the lump in his throat and sniffled.  
  
"There it is, take it easy," Michael said, smiling softly. "Just breathe. You're fine. I'm here." He slid one of his hands out of Luke's grip and started to rub slow circles on his back. Then he frowned. "What's this?" he murmured to himself as he retracted his hand, studying his fingers. His eyes widened and he quickly wiped his hands on the hem of his shirt.  
  
Luke's shoulders tensed before he understood. "Water," he said.  
  
Michael nodded as he too realized what was going on.  
  
"She wasn't controlling my tail, she was just keeping me in contact with water."  
  
"A small enough drop that you wouldn't notice."  
  
Luke let out a long breath. It seemed he was going to be okay after all.  
  
The silence around him suddenly hit him. He looked up and found Calum staring at him with wide eyes. Luke had missed something. What was it?  
  
"He's getting the keys," was all Calum said.  
  
Michael's calm demeanor vanished as he cursed under his breath and reached into his bag, pulling out some underwear and an old, white shirt. Luke blinked at him. "A friend taught me to be prepared," Michael said before turning his back to give Luke some privacy. "Put them on."  
  
Luke waved his tail goodbye, and wriggled himself into Michael's pair of boxers and his own pants that he'd managed to save. He pulled the shirt over his head and rubbed his face with his hands before getting up. Just standing on his own two feet gave him more relief than anything ever had.  
  
"Done," he said to let Michael know he could turn around "Woah!" Luke exclaimed as he laid eyes on Michael, "What are you doing?!"  
  
Michael's arm stopped mid-movement and he looked a little guilty as Luke's shirt dangled from his hand above the trash can. "We've got to make it seem like Calum was telling the truth."  
  
"You're _not_ dipping my shirt into his vomit!" Luke protested.  
  
"If we want any of Mr. Van Diemen's temper to subside, we're going to have to present him with some evidence."  
  
"I don't care about his temper. I'm not getting my Weezer shirt soiled!"  
  
The shirt slid from Michael's fingers and into the bin. Luke could only look on in horror, his mouth slightly agape.  
  
"You can always wash it," Calum suggested.  
  
Luke glared daggers at him. "This is all _your_ fault!" he snarled.  
  
"Shut up!" Michael came in between. Luke opened his mouth to yell at him but was silenced by the look in his eyes, and abruptly closed his mouth again.  
  
"What is it?" Calum whispered, having the same thought as Luke.  
  
Michael tapped his ear with his index finger. Luke strained his ears and heard footsteps nearing the door. Keys rattled against the lock.  
  
"Remember; you're sick," Michael whispered, pushing Luke into a chair and shoving the trash can in front of him. Luke scrunched up his nose averted his eyes, angling his head to the side. "Good, very good," Michael murmured.  
  
"Shut up," Luke whispered.  
  
"Just be glad I washed that pair of undies before putting it in my bag," Michael said, a smirk playing on his lips.  
  
Luke didn't have the time to smack him on the arm before the door opened and the Biology teacher stormed in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was a bit yucky, but I tried to not make it too graphic so I hope you didn't mind too much. If it's any consolation, it's not getting any worse than this in this fic. (I think).  
> I hope you liked it anyway, and if you have any thoughts about the chapter, please don't hesitate to leave a comment or talk to me on [my tumblr](http://cliffordiste.tumblr.com/).
> 
> PS I published an extra scene I wrote to orient myself in Calum's character some more. You can find it [here](http://cliffordiste.tumblr.com/post/157286562599/like-the-ocean-finds-the-shore-bonus-scene) if you want to read it.


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